PARIS, Dec. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Boralex Inc.
("Boralex" or the "Company") (TSX: BLX) is pleased to announce that
it has commissioned its first floating solar farm, in
Peyrolles-en-Provence, in the French department of
Bouches-du-Rhône. The facility consists of more than 43,000
photovoltaic panels for a total installed capacity of 12 MWac,
assembled into a 12-hectare island in the "Chapeliers" basin, a
former gravel pit undergoing a global redevelopment operation.
The site will produce more than 22 GWh per year, enough to meet
the energy needs of some 6,400 households. The project was selected
under the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE 4) call for
tenders for period 7 and thus benefits from a feed-in premium
contract for 20 years.
The floating solar project originates from the vision of
materials company Durance Granulats and municipality
Peyrolles-en-Provence to refurbish a gravel pit on the Chapeliers
site, which had reached the end of its operating life. Also
interested in opportunities to use the space for energy generation,
the Durance Granulats and Peyrolles-en-Provence engaged Boralex in
2016 to develop a project. The Company then launched specific
studies to define and qualify the environmental, landscape and
technical issues to create a project with a sustainable
technological solution that is easy to operate.
Five years after its launch, Peyrolles-en-Provence becomes the
first Boralex asset to use floating solar technology—making it
possible to turn a body of water at an old industrial site into a
renewable energy production asset.
In addition, through a partnership between Boralex and the
Institut National de l'Energie Solaire (INES), a world leader in
R&D and expertise in solar technologies, the solar facility
will be monitored, with a focus on specific measurements for at
least the first three years of operation. This research will
therefore contribute to enhancing floating solar technology and
allow for the optimization of the overall performance of the
site.
"The Peyrolles-en-Provence project is the result of extensive
engineering work and consultations with stakeholders," said
Nicolas Wolff, Vice President and
General Manager Boralex, Europe.
"Our teams were able to take advantage of this innovative
technology to offer a technico-ecological solution adapted to its
natural environment, and thus meet the needs expressed by Durance
Granulats and the municipality of Peyrolles-en-Provence. We are
proud to see the site now generating its first electrons."
About Boralex
At Boralex, we have been providing affordable renewable energy
accessible to everyone for over 30 years. As a leader in the
Canadian market and France's
largest independent producer of onshore wind power, we also have
facilities in the United States
and development projects in the United
Kingdom. Over the past five years, our installed capacity
has more than doubled to 2.5 GW. We are developing a portfolio of
more than 3 GW in wind and solar projects and nearly 200 MW in
storage projects, guided by our values and our corporate social
responsibility (CSR) approach. Through profitable and sustainable
growth, Boralex is actively participating in the fight against
global warming. Thanks to our fearlessness, our discipline, our
expertise and our diversity, we continue to be an industry leader.
Boralex's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the
ticker symbol BLX.
For more information, visit www.boralex.com or www.sedar.com.
Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/boralex-continues-to-diversify-commissions-its-first-floating-solar-farm-in-france-301438667.html
SOURCE Boralex Inc.