French renewable energy company Engie Green has opened a new solar farm in the Haut-Rhin region of France. The 22MW Volgelsheim photovoltaic park was developed in partnership with Saem Vialis, who secured the project in the 2019 call for tenders for the “energy transition of the territory of Fessenheim” by the Ministry of Ecological Transition. The project required an investment of €15m and was built on a former military site owned by the Municipality of Volgelsheim.
The solar farm spans 22.3 hectares, with 19.7 hectares dedicated to the solar power plant itself. Unique to this project, the vegetation under and around the panels has been preserved, and maintenance will be provided by sheep grazing. Engie Green and Saem Vialis have also taken measures to promote biodiversity, including creating habitats for lizards, installing two kestrel nesting boxes, and planting hedges with landscape and environmental functions.
In addition to the Volgelsheim solar farm, Engie Green and Saem Vialis will commission a second solar power plant, the Ligelios solar power plant, by 2024. The new plant will have an installed power of 11.5MW and will recover degraded land previously used for waste storage on the western outskirts of the city of Colmar.
The two solar power plants are part of France's ongoing efforts to transition to renewable energy sources and reduce its carbon footprint. Through initiatives like these, France hopes to meet its target of producing 33% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. With the successful completion of the Volgelsheim photovoltaic park, Engie Green and Saem Vialis have taken an important step towards achieving this goal.
