SunPower, a U.S.-based solar PV firm, and La Compagnie du Vent, a subsidiary of French utility GDF Suez, have dedicated the first solar power plant from their partnership in France under the country’s national tender program administered by the French Energy Regulatory Commission.
The 12MW Langele solar power plant is one of the four solar power plants the companies are building from the partnership. SunPower has agreed to supply 41MW of solar panels for four La Compagnie du projects.
Langele solar power plant will generate 17,500,000 kilowatt-hours of energy each year, which may serve the electricity demand of approximately 9,700 people in the region, according to officials at the utility. It will offset approximately 14,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Other three La Compagnie du Vent solar projects under the project include the 12-megawatt Roc du Dounproject in the Limousin region, the 12-megawatt La Foret Marcoles in the Auvergne region, and the 5-megawatt Le Mouruen Signes in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region. All of these are expected to be operational by the end of 2015.
The first partnership between SunPower has been a La Compagnie du Vent started in 2012, when SunPower worked with La Compagnie du Vent to deliver the 4-megawatt Porette de Nérone solar plant in Aghione, Corsica.
The announcement follows SunPower’s partnership with University of California, Davis (UC Davis) to build a 16 MW ground-mounted solar power plant with a production capacity that meets 14 percent of UC Davis’ electricity needs.
SunPower is one of the few players gaining from the rapidly growing solar energy market across the world. However, the company’s last financial quarter showed some discouraging results. Precisely, the Q2 results indicated that the company’s revenue and net income were down 11.91 percent and 27.95 percent respectively over the same quarter last year.
Rajani Baburajan