Volkswagen France has commissioned a 20 MW solar canopy project in Villers-Cotterêts, in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France.
Volkswagen Group France (VGF), a unit of German automaker Volkswagen, has installed a solar power plant on the carport of its headquarters in Villers-Cotterêts, in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France.
The project consists of two 10 MW arrays covering a 15-hectare parking lot. Xavier Chardon, chairman of VGF’s board of directors, stated that “(a) car park sunshade is fully in line with (its) GotoZero strategy to reduce the carbon footprint.”
Engie Green, the renewable energy unit of French energy group Engie, developed and financed the €20 million ($21.8 million) installation. It operates and maintains the facility for 32 years.
The French Ministry of Ecological Transition selected the project in a tender held in 2020–2021. The project is also supported by crowdfunding from local communities.
This carport is Engie Green’s thirteenth of its kind in France, and it transforms parking lots into green electricity production facilities on 200 hectares. As of January 1, 2023, Engie Green had 2.4 GW of wind farms and 1.7 GW of solar projects in France.
