Engie and Neoen to build solar, hydrogen, battery units
French utility Engie and renewables firm Neoen will jointly develop 1GW of solar capacity and accompanying green hydrogen and battery projects in southwest France.
Engie and Neoen plan to build solar plants in Saucats near Bordeaux in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The project will be commissioned as part of the region's target to increase its solar capacity to 8.5GW from 2GW by 2030. The exact timeline of the project will be determined after a public consultation.
The firms will build a 10MW hydrogen facility in the area to cover mobility needs in the greater Bordeaux area, Engie told Argus. A 40MW battery storage unit is also planned to be built at the site.
The 1GW solar project will be subsidy free and sell its output through power purchase agreements (PPAs).
The project will lift Engie's installed solar capacity to 2.2GW. The company currently operates 7.9GW of renewable capacity in France, including 850MW in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
French solar capacity rose by 724MW to 10.2GW in January-September 2020, against a 582MW increase over the same period a year earlier, the latest available data from the ecology ministry show.
The country's solar capacity is planned to reach 20.1GW by 2023 under the latest version of its multi-year energy plan, pointing to expected growth of 2.67 GW/yr.
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