EDF’s new 20MW floating solar project will be built near EDF’s hydroelectric dam near Lazer, in southern France.
EDF Renouvelables, the renewable energy unit of the French energy giant EDF, has commissioned its first floating solar power plant in France. The 20 MW facility is located on the surface of the water near a hydroelectric dam operated by EDF near Lazer, in the southern region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
“EDF Renewables utilized the expertise it developed at the international level, as four floating solar power plants have already been built in Israel and the United States,” says Bruno Benssasson, EDF Group’s vice president of renewable energy.
The country’s regulatory authority, CRE, selected the project in a tender held in 2018.
The solar power plant brings additional power alongside the hydropower plant, especially in summer, when Lazer Lake’s water is mainly used for irrigation. EDF stated that the anchoring and flotation system enables adaptation to changes in the reservoir’s water level without affecting its operation.
This installation strengthens EDF Renewables’ presence in the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region. In 2023, the company plans to commission five new solar power plants, which will complement the existing five facilities and increase EDF Renewables’ regional solar energy production capacity to 85 MW.
