OREANDA-NEWS. The facility in the town of Besse-sur-Issole (Var department) is among the most powerful photovoltaic facilities in France. It will produce more than 20 million kilowatt-hours per year, an amount equivalent to the power consumption of 11,000 people - 4 times the population of the town.

This facility features remarkable energy density (1.2 hectare/peak MW installed, almost two times better than the average for the sector), which means it uses a relatively small surface area. The power plant is at the foot of a hill at the centre of the Var department. GDF SUEZ paid particular attention to its integration into the surroundings so that the layout would be perfectly adapted to the site. To this effect, it built a facility with a surface area of 17 hectares instead of the 30 hectares that were originally planned. This accomplishment was made possible by using innovative software developed by the company to optimize the placement of the panels on complex terrain.

In order to build the power plant, GDF SUEZ called on local and regional businesses for tasks relating to civil engineering, road work, and electrical wiring. On average, 50 jobs lasting 8 months were created for the site.

With the Besse-sur-Issole solar power plant, GDF SUEZ now has a total solar energy capacity of 105 peak MW in France. This year, with its subsidiaries Compagnie du Vent and Compagnie Nationale du Rhône, GDF SUEZ was awarded ten new projects during the last national call for bids, representing a total capacity of 53.35 peak MW. These new projects move GDF SUEZ forward in its goal to reach a capacity of 200 peak MW in France by 2016.

During the inauguration, Jean-François Cirelli, Vice-Chairman and President of GDF SUEZ, stated: “This solar power plant illustrates our ambitious development strategy which favours collaborative projects that participate in the energy transition of France. Our company has been fully committed to meeting this major challenge for our country. We have a strong ambition: to become leader in energy transition in Europe by relying on the development of renewable energy, energy efficiency and smart energy”.

GDF SUEZ already has a capacity of 7,000 MW in renewable energy from facilities installed all over Europe and plans on investing 1 billion Euros by 2016, prioritizing solar and onshore wind energy. In addition, GDF SUEZ is involved in the development of renewable marine energy sources such as wave power and offshore wind energy. In fact, our company has just been hired by the French government to build and manage offshore wind farms off the coast of the town of Le Tréport (500 MW) and of two islands, Ile d'Yeu and Noirmoutier (500 MW).