Making up for lost time: France building largest solar plant in Europe
November 7, 2014 | By
Doug Peeples
France may have been a late bloomer in adopting solar power, but the country has more than made up for it with aggressive renewable energy initiatives. Paris-based renewable energy developer and project manager Neoen broke ground this week for what will be Europe's largest solar plant. Located at Cestas, a short distance south of Bordeaux, the $450 million, 300 MW plant will provide enough electricity to meet the needs of more than 230,000 homes and businesses. Constantly falling solar power costs, rising nuclear power costs and the backing of the French government all contribute to the country's ambitious renewable energy program. To put it in perspective, French solar power plants provided 1 percent of the country's total electricity as of June, and, following a banner year for solar in 2011, the industry slowed substantially because of a lack of interest from the government at that time. But, in October, French President Francois Hollande pledged to limit the growth of nuclear power in favor of wind, solar and small hydropower projects. The French government plan now is to reduce the percentage of electricity from nuclear from 75 percent to 50 percent over the next 11 years. Nuclear will not be abandoned but it will have a much lower profile in the French energy mix. And the late start for France could have been an advantage, observers have said. Some neighboring countries, like Spain, which started their renewable energy programs earlier, have been feeling the pinch as taxes levied on operators earned a cold shoulder from investors. In contrast, Neoen -- founded by Jacques Veyrat, former CEO of global conglomerate Louis Dreyfus -- is well-financed for the project by major banks and investment funds. The Cestas project should be in operation by October of 2015, and Neoen anticipates installing more solar in France by 2017. For more: © 2014 FierceMarkets, a division of Questex Media Group LLC. All rights reserved. |