A round-up of the latest news in solar project development worldwide, featuring news from EDF Renewables, Hive Energy, Sterling and Wilson and Disneyland Paris, of all places.
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Disneyland Paris to receive massive solar carport installation
22 October 2020: Disneyland Paris has confirmed it will install one of Europe’s largest solar carports at the theme park.
French solar firm Urbasolar has been tasked with the install, which will be completed in phases until 2023. Construction began in July, with the first phase expected to complete in spring 2021.
When complete, around 67,500 will form the array developed over 17 hectares of visitor carparking at the facility. It is expected to generate 31GWh of power each year, contributing to the park’s environmental strategy.
“This power plant is an unprecedent project in Europe from a major company like Disneyland Paris… It will be a fully tailor-made project, integrated into Urbasolar’s strategy of innovation on system monitoring and on-site energy management,” Stéphanie Andrieu, CEO of Urbasolar, and Arnaud Mine, president of Urbasolar, said in a joint statement.
Hive Energy bags approval for another giant Spanish solar array
23 October 2020: Solar developer Hive Energy has received approval for another giant solar farm in Spain.
Having been granted planning approvals for the 169MW Olmedilla solar project earlier this month, Hive last week received permission to develop another 169MW project, Olmedilla’s sister location, dubbed Sabinar.
And the site could grow even larger, with an 83MW extension also progressing through Spain’s planning framework.
Once complete, all three sites will have a combined generation capacity of 421MW.
While Hive sold the Olmedilla project to Noy Fund earlier this year, it has retained ownership of Sabinar and the company said it was currently exploring options as to how to progress the project further.
EDF Renewables continues UK solar push with new 50MW project
21 October 2020: EDF Renewables has unveiled plans to build a 50MW project in the UK, bolstering the company’s renewables position in the country.
The project would underpin plans to install EV charging infrastructure nearby, EDF said, with ecological and feasibility surveys having already been carried out.
A formal planning application is set to be submitted to Mid Suffolk District Council before the end of the year.
For more on this project, visit sister publication Solar Power Portal.
Sterling and Wilson, Vergnet combine for Niger solar-storage-diesel project
22 October 2020: Indian engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm Sterling and Wilson has partnered with French EPC Vergnet to develop a solar-storage and diesel genset hybrid project in Niger.
The project is to combine 18.9MWp of solar, an 11.55MWh battery energy storage system and a 6.54MVa diesel generator, to be connected to a substation in the city of Agadez.
The consortium, which also includes local power company SNS Niger, will also be responsible for a two-year O&M contract of the project.
“Hybrid energy solutions is [sic] a huge opportunity as many power generation and distribution companies in places like Africa are moving into renewables,” Deepak Thakur, CEO for hybrid and energy storage at Sterling and Wilson, said.