Saint Charles Solaire completes world’s largest BIPV system in Perpignan, France

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

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.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

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.

Read Next

May 30, 2025
Independent power producer (IPP) Aquila Clean Energy has started construction on a 52MW agrivoltaics (agriPV) project in Italy.
May 30, 2025
The US added 7.4GW of new renewable energy capacity in the first three months of 2025, with deployments and planned projects concentrated in Republican-voting states.
May 30, 2025
Solar and wind curtailment have increased by 29% between 2023 and 2024 in California, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
May 30, 2025
Companies delayed or cancelled US$14 billion in investments in clean energy projects in the US in the first four months of this year.
May 30, 2025
Waaree Solar Americas – a subsidiary of Indian solar manufacturer Waaree Energies – has signed a 586MW solar module supply agreement with an undisclosed independent power producer (IPP).
May 30, 2025
Spanish independent power producer (IPP) has unveiled two new solar-plus-storage projects, one in Central Chile and the other in Spain.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA
Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 8, 2025
Asia