MOSCOW (MRC) -- Michael COUDYSER, CEO of Corsica Sole, an innovator in photovoltaics, and Pascal MILLET,
Director of the Arkema plant in Saint-Auban, has inaugurated a solar power plant within this plant, in the
presence of Rene MASSETTE, President of the Departmental Council of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, said the company.
With a power of 10 MWp, its annual production will be equal to 19 GWh. It covers 10 of the 51 hectares of the
plant, itself specialized in the production of solvents for the manufacture of fluoropolymers. The Saint-Auban
site has the special feature of being fully located within the perimeter of an operating Seveso-classified
industrial site.
Much of the industrial brownfield land at the plant has been repurposed in this way, solar power offering it a
second, more environmentally friendly, life. This contaminated land formerly served as the location of solvent
production workshops.
The energy produced is used for local consumption to power the operation of the Arkema plant. This
environmentally fragile industrial site thus becomes a driver of clean solutions, producing and consuming green
energy.
More generally speaking, this innovative project shows that the operation of Seveso sites offers promising
solutions for dealing with the lack of land in France available for the installation of photovoltaic units.
"This plant,” explains Michael COUDYSER, “is proof of Corsica Sole’s capacity to provide new responses to
complex problems. Innovation is in our DNA. We have already shown this with the opening of the first plant with
energy storage in 2015 in Corsica and construction of the first solar parasol in the world by our subsidiary,
Driv’Eco, in 2016."
For Chantal DEGRENDELE, Environmental Director of Arkema, “this project is part of the sustainable
development and energy transition policy of Arkema. It’s why we supported the Corsica Sole project and
participated actively in its implementation. We are also in charge of maintenance for Corsica Sole. We would like
to build on this experience to implement renewable energy solutions on other sites of the Group.”
Winner of the 2016 call for tenders of the Commission de regulation de l'energie (the French energy regulation
commission), the Saint-Auban plant represents an investment of 13 million euros with a 20-year fixed–rate
power purchase agreement.
MRC