Floating solar PV (FPV) developer Ciel & Terre has started construction work at a 72.3MWp floating solar PV project, teamed with a 2MWp onshore solar PV plant, in France.
The project, located in Haute-Marne, spans over 127 hectares and is divided into six lakes. The solar plant will be installed on a former gravel pit that is partially still in use, while the FPV project will be built on a quarry lake.
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Ciel & Terre is responsible for designing the power plant, completing anchoring installation and assembling the floating solar platform at this project. It completed the anchoring installation process by using a hybrid anchor solution with a bank and bottom anchoring.
Currently, the Ciel & Terre construction team has assembled more than 40% of the floating solar islands at the project.
“In terms of design, we have an electrical configuration of 27 modules per string for all the reservoirs, which has enabled us to order and deliver string return cables already pre-assembled in the factory,” said Vincent Pinchou, Ciel & Terre EMEA project manager.
Prior to this project, Ciel & Terre Taiwan and renewables developer HEXA Renewables completed the final phases of a 440MWp floating solar project in Taiwan in February.
Situated within the Changbin Industrial Park in Changhua County, the projects Changbin #3 and #4 are extensions of the former Changbin floating solar project, which was built in Taiwan in 2020 in the same area and cover over 171 hectares of water surface. Construction of Changbin #3 and #4 started in October 2022, with the first commercial operation date achieved in October 2023.
The entire completed FPV project in the Changbin industrial zone is about 440MWp, with Ciel & Terre Taiwan’s work representing 280MWp. In total, the project generates 260GWh of power annually.