EDF Energies Nouvelles commissions 67.2-MWp Gabardan solar PV facility in France's Aquitaine region

Rachel Carter

PARIS , October 6, 2011 (press release) – EDF Energies Nouvelles announces the full commissioning of the Gabardan solar photovoltaic facility in the Aquitaine region (western France), with a total installed capacity of 67.2 MWp.
The Gabardan solar plant, located in the municipality of Losse in the Landes department, is equipped with around 872,300 next-generation thin-film photovoltaic panels manufactured by First Solar.

This power plant produces the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of around 37,000 people and will offset around 5,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions p.a.

The Gabardan solar plant comprises a 2 MWp pilot project of 11,100 panels fitted on “trackers”, structures - designed by local start-up Exosun - which move with the path of the sun, thus enhancing their output. This pilot project has received financial support from the regional council, the French environmental and energy control agency (ADEME) and the European regional development fund*.

Initiated in 2009, the power plant was developed and built by EDF EN France and has been gradually coming into service since June 2010. EDF EN Services provides operations & maintenance services to the power plant.

“We are proud of this project, which both generates green electricity and enables the rehabilitation of an area of forest destroyed by the storms. This is the result of a fruitful collaboration with the local community of Gabardan and local authorities”, commented Yvon André, Chief Executive Officer of EDF EN France. To date the EDF EN group has developed and built 186.3 MWp of solar projects in France.

About EDF Energies Nouvelles

With operations in Europe and North America, EDF Energies Nouvelles is a market leader in green electricity production. With a development focused on wind energy for several years and more recently on solar photovoltaic, the Group is also present in other segments of the renewable energies market: small hydro, marine energy, biomass, biofuel and biogas. In addition, the Group is expanding in the distributed renewable energies sector. EDF Energies Nouvelles is a subsidiary of the EDF Group. For more information, please visit www.edf-energies-nouvelles.com.

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