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A fruit and vegetable distribution centre in the south of France is now the site of the world’s largest building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) system, after 97,000 Solaire France Sunstyle PV roofing tiles were installed on the Saint Charles International in Perpignan.
The 8.8MW array, which spans 11 buildings and 68,000m2 of warehouse roofing, took two years to install and will generate 9,800MWh of electricity a year. This electricity is to be fed back into the public grid and sold to energy company EDF via a 20-year power purchase agreement.
Plans are already in place to expand the record-breaking system to include and additional 250,000m2 of tiling by 2015, potentially tripling capacity in the process.
The €54 million development was financed by Saint Charles Solaire alongside its associates Akuo Saint Charles, Caisse des Dépots et Consignation, Solaire France International, the Pool Centrale Solaire and Solaire France. Further backing came from French banks Natixis and Banque Populaire du Sud.
The Saint Charles International array was officially opened by France’s Minister for the Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transportation and Housing, Nathalie Kosciusko, in October.
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Solar panels can be expensive to get, assemble, mount and start-up. Little saving tips can dramatically bring costs down. The only draw-back with solar panels is the initial process. But once up-and-running the ROI is unmatched. Also with the epidemic move to solar, we should see a drop in pricing for the obtaining of solar. The only problem is that, since solar increases the value of any property, then that means prices might sky rocket again. A balance should be struck once rules and regulations take place on a bigger scale. Eskom will have a lot to say on that one. The White House is also considering solar panels on its rooftops AGAIN with Obama as the instigator. This now makes everyone start seing the value of solar. Beats me why people only pay attention to things only when someone of reputation says it.