Brief
The huge Parc des Grivelles building in Sancoins, France, hosts a livestock market, a roadside restaurant and a timber warehouse. It used to have an asbestos problem on its 3.2-hectare roof, which was solved by installing thousands of solar PV and PVT panels to replace the affected surface. This is now the largest solar roof in the Centre Val de Loire region.
Technology
This solar installation was integrated into the Parc des Grivelles roof through an EASYROOF system, and it covers 14,000m² of the building’s roof with 18 solar hybrid PVT panels and 8,000 solar PV panels. It will produce 2,500,000 kwH of energy per year, fulfilling both the heating and electricity needs of the entire facility. A 600m³ Sonnenkraft thermal energy storage tank complements the solar thermal part of the installation, ensuring a continuous and reliable heat supply.
Financial Structure
The Parc des Grivelles solar plant was financed by the French company Armorgreen, which is specialised in installing solar PV cells but also has expertise in solar hybrid projects. Armorgreen will operate the solar installation for 20 years, selling the electricity produced to Électricité de France (EDF).