SNCF Gares & Connexions announced on Thursday that it had signed a contract with the Provençal company Tenergie, relating to the construction of more than 100 photovoltaic power stations around its stations.
While the Senate voted (at first reading of course, but with a good chance of going to the end of the parliamentary shuttle) a bill aimed at making the installation of photovoltaic canopies mandatory in car parks with more than 80 spaces , the SNCF anticipates by implementing its own power plant plan. SNCF Gares & Connexions has entered into a partnership with the company Tenergie aimed at installing solar panels in the car parks of 119 of its stations.
Panels that will help produce the equivalent of 15% of the consumption of the country’s 3,000 stations
SNCF Gares & Connexions had proposed a list of stations nationwide to Tenergie, a company based in the Bouches-du-Rhône. The latter has been supporting communities and companies in their equipment for fifteen years. The company, which also does wind power, finally selected 119 SNCF stations.
As part of the partnership, Tenergie will install 180,000 square meters of photovoltaic panels in the car parks of 119 stations (with an estimated capacity of 30 megawatts-peak). Enough to provide solar electricity production and protect users from bad weather and high heat.
The first solar panel power plants should be commissioned by the end of 2024. The 119 stations equipped should generate enough power to produce 15% of the annual electricity consumption of the 3,000 French stations. This is also equivalent to the annual consumption of 7,500 households.
SNCF is targeting one million square meters of photovoltaic panels installed at its stations
The 119 stations chosen will be spread throughout the territory, with an advantage for the regions Grand Est (18), Île-de-France (17), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (17) and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’ Azure (12). The amount of the investment is estimated between 40 and 50 million euros.
This partnership is only the first step in SNCF Gares & Connexions’ wider solar plan, which aims to deploy one million square meters of photovoltaic panels on the property assets of the railway company’s stations. It should extend production capacity to around 150 to 200 MWp by 2030-2032.
” By 2030, the production of renewable energies on SNCF Gares & Connexions land will be equivalent to its electricity consumption “promises the company. This electricity production will be partly injected into the French electricity network, via the national distribution network. The other part will be sent to the electrical network of the stations.
Source : SNCF Stations & Connections
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