RES has signed a long-term power purchase agreement to supply almost 40MW of green electricity to the energy arm of French rail operator SNCF Voyageurs.
The deal with SNCF Energie is for between 15 and 20 years and should cover around 2% of the electricity consumption required for all SNCF Voyageurs trains.
It will enable the construction and operation of solar power plants from 2021, which will be linked directly to SNCF Energie for its needs.
The solar farms will be located in the Alpes de Haute-Provence in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in the south of France.
They will be commissioned between 2021 and 2023 and will have annual production of nearly 60 gigawatt-hours.
SNCF Energie signed a 143MW PPA with Voltalia in June 2019.
SNCF Voyageurs is consolidating its ambition to achieve 40 to 50% renewable energy in its electricity mix by 2025.
SNCF Energie is engaged in negotiations with various developers and producers of renewable energy, with the objective to contract in the next one to two years three to five times the volumes already acquired through the first two Green Corporate PPAs.
RES France managing director Sebastien Dubois said: “RES is proud to make a long-term commitment to the energy transition alongside SNCF Energie, by enabling the construction of new solar capacity outside the calls for tender issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
“This agreement demonstrates the attractiveness and competitiveness of solar energy in France.
“The signature of this corporate green PPA is a further step in the pursuit of our vision of a future where everyone has access to affordable, zero carbon energy.
“The contract with SNCF Energie is a first for RES in France and, we hope, the beginning of a long series to come.”
SNCF Voyageurs chairman and chief executive Christophe Fanichet said: “With this new contract, we consolidate our ambition to develop green corporate PPA contracts for 20% of our electricity consumption, to reach more than 40% of electricity from renewable sources in our electricity supply mix within three to four years.
“This is in line with the desire of the whole SNCF group and railway workers to offer more sustainable mobility thanks to ever cleaner trains.
“We are proud to contribute through this contract to the creation of additional solar photovoltaic capacity in France, which will benefit the transition of the French energy mix.”