Octopus Energy and BayWa’s renewables arm have signed two major corporate power purchase agreements with SNCF Energie.
Under the deal, green electricity from two solar farms will be supplied to French national railway company SNCF Voyageurs in a move to accelerate the shift to cleaner, fossil-free public transport.
Developed and constructed by global renewable energy company BayWa r.e. and acquired through Octopus’ Sky fund, the solar farms Greenberry and Fontenet 3 (pictured), are expected to deliver over 100GWh of green electricity each year.
The two solar farms are located on former military bases in central and south-west France. Over the agreement’s 25-year period, these solar farms will produce 2.5TWh of clean electricity – enough to power 15,500 TGV trips from Paris to Rennes each year. It marks BayWa r.e.’s and Octopus’ first agreement of this kind in France.
The move brings SNCF Voyageurs a step closer to its sustainability goals. Since 2018, SNCF Voyageurs has expanded its corporate PPA programme, aiming to source 20% of its electricity through CPPAs.
It comes as Octopus is expanding its footprint in France, now managing over 500MW of solar and wind projects and supplying energy to more than 600,000 homes through its retail business.
SNCF Energie’s managing director Richard Fécamp said: “This is a huge leap forward for SNCF’s ambition to decarbonise and expand rail transport.
“As one of France’s largest energy consumers, we aim to source between 40% and 50% of the electricity consumed by our trains from renewables by 2030, including 20% from PPAs.
“The Fontenet 3 and Greenberry PPAs represent significant progress in our commitment to clean energy transformation.”
BayWa r.e. chief operations officer Daniel Gaefke said: “Completing the negotiation of these two PPAs in just three months – from kick-off to signature – underscores what a perfect match this collaboration is and our commitment to delivering large-scale renewable solutions at pace.
“We’re proud to support SNCF’s green rail ambitions by providing expert technical management to Octopus’ assets and look forward to working together with our valued partners on many more projects to advance decarbonisation across France and beyond.”
Co-head of Octopus Energy Generation Alex Brierly added: “Travelling by train is already one of the cleanest ways to get around, and we’re proud to help put SNCF’s trains on an even greener track. We’ve already invested in over 30 solar and wind projects across France, and we’ll continue to steam ahead to power the country’s green energy future.”