2023-06-20 16:01:54
Find space wherever possible, on waste land, fields, roofs or even on water. EDF Renewable Energies (EDF EN) inaugurated, on Tuesday June 20, its first unit in France, in the Hautes-Alpes, whose particularity is to be installed on a hydroelectric reservoir, Lazer, which was commissioned in 1992.
With a capacity of 20 MW, it will cover three quarters of the total surface of the water body. 50,000 panels were fixed on floats, themselves connected to each other to form islands, anchored to the bottom of the reservoir by steel ropes.
A plant that adapts to the water level
“Several technical challenges had to be overcome during the works, in particular so as not to interfere with hydroelectric activity”, explains Sofiane Boukebbous, EDF’s development director in the south-east and overseas areas. For example, the cables that hold the plant have been designed loosely enough to adapt the plant to the variation in water level, but without being too loose, so that the islands do not drift on the reservoir. depending on the wind. The group explains that it has relied on the know-how of the four floating solar power plants that it has already commissioned in the United States and Israel.
In total, the Lazer photovoltaic plant should make it possible to double the renewable production (hydroelectricity + solar) of the site, to now represent the equivalent of the consumption of a city of 12,500 inhabitants.
A first plant in the Vaucluse in 2019
“Floating solar represents an additional cost of approximately 15 to 20% compared to a ground installation on a conventional plot, explains Steve Arcelin, Western Europe and Overseas Director of Akuo, another renewables operator. But it has many advantages: it reduces pressure on agricultural land, reduces water evaporation and relieves communities with old quarries and gravel pits, which most of the time represent a lot of constraints in terms of management. »
The group was a pioneer on the subject in France, with the commissioning of the first plant of this type, O’Mega 1, on an artificial lake in the Vaucluse, in 2019. Since then, its capacity has also been increased from 17 to 22 MW, which still makes it the largest in France and the second largest in Europe, after a 41 MW park in the Netherlands.
Limit conflicts of use with other activities
“Floating solar makes it possible to limit conflicts of use. It’s a very good way to produce in areas that have already been artificialised, in the same way as waste landfill sites”, notes Anna Wachowiak, deputy general manager of Soregies, a semi-public company (SEM) historically based in Vienne. It installed its first power plant (2.9 MW) in 2020 on a former quarry.
A small part of the additional cost of the installations can nevertheless be offset by improving the efficiency of the panels, which are the same as those of a solar power plant on the ground. Cooled by water, they heat up less and therefore display better productivity. “From 3 to 4% more”, we estimate at EDF EN. In the case of Lazer, the group has also chosen to put two-sided panels, so that the modules positioned at the back benefit from the reverberation of the water, i.e. an improved yield of 4 to 5%.
Significant potential
The potential of floating solar in France would be significant, according to professionals. “About 5 gigawatts (GW) », estimates the leader of Akuo, which displays a project portfolio of 180 MW. The group has just commissioned a second power plant in Haute-Garonne, of 8.6 MW, has another under construction in Landes and will develop two in Bas-Rhin.
By comparison, the Ademe estimates at 8 GW the surfaces of industrial wasteland that could potentially be converted for photovoltaics.
Floating solar projects are thus beginning to multiply, even if the volumes are still very modest. EDF provides floor on other projects, not necessarily on hydroelectric reservoirs. In September, Avergies, the Lot-et-Garonne energy syndicate, will inaugurate the first hybrid power plant, with part on land and part on water, in Montpezat-d’Agenais. Soregies is working for its part with the public establishment Institution Adour, which manages the Adour basin to build floating power stations in 22 low water basins, for a total capacity of 150 MW.
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