Ciel & Terre starts construction of first floating solar power plant in France’s Isère

Ciel & Terre (Ciel et Terre) has started building a new floating solar power plant in Saint-Savin, southeast of Lyon, France. 

The 11 MW project, developed in collaboration with Energ’Isère and GenSun, will transform a quarry lake into a renewable energy hub. Once completed, the project will take the form of a solitary island in the middle of the lake.

Floating solar will not disturb other activities on the quarry lake, such as mining and quarrying. 

Ciel & Terre is providing a floating solution, including the sizing of the floating platform, design of the anchoring system, and the supply and installation of the floating structure and its anchoring system for the project.

In the first phase of the project, the Ciel & Terre team is prioritizing site conditions and environmental considerations. 

The power plant project in Isère is part of Ciel & Terre’s larger 100 MWp floating solar initiative in Europe. 

“Floating solar is not standard. Indeed, each project is different and requires considering the site characteristics,” Marie Bonte, Ciel & Terre’s project manager for Saint-Savin’s project said.

“We have considered all criteria and parameters provided to design the FPV plant and arrange the construction site to fit with the quarry activity to keep its operation fully active.”

The project will also mark the first time Ciel & Terre will be using the new version of its Hydrelio technology, the aiR Optim.

According to the company, the aiR Optim version facilitates the operation of the power plant due to a new float design that reportedly makes it easier to operate on, manage wires and install junction boxes and/or string inverters.

The technology is also said to be compatible with almost all photovoltaic panels that are available on the market, and also highly modular and with a wide range of configurations that can meet the performance requirements of each project.

Similar international projects employing this technology are concurrently underway in Brazil, India, and the Netherlands, Ciel & Terre said.