Engie Green has inaugurated a solar farm in France’s Haut-Rhin region.
The 22MW Volgelsheim photovoltaic park was co-developed by Saem Vialis and Engie Green, which 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 solar farm required an investment of €15m and has been built on a former military ground, owned by the Municipality of Volgelsheim.
The plot dedicated to the project is 22.3 hectares, including 19.7 hectares for the solar power plant itself.
The vegetation under and around the panels is preserved and maintenance will be provided by sheep grazing.
Other measures conducive to the development of biodiversity include the creation of habitats favourable to lizards, the installation of two kestrel nesting boxes, the adjustment of fences to favour the passage of small fauna and the planting of hedges with landscape and environmental functions.
Vialis and Engie Green will also commission a second solar power plant by 2024, which will recover degraded site used for waste storage in the past.
The Ligelios solar power plant, located on the western outskirts of the city of Colmar, will have an installed power of 11.5MW.