Vinon goes photovoltaic

Five kilometres south of Vinon-sur-Verdon, the familiar landscape of rolling hills, ploughed fields and pastures suddenly changes into a science-fiction scene. Hundreds upon hundreds of aluminium frames, facing upward, seem to be waiting for a message from outer space.

The message will come soon and it will be in the form of energy—once the frames are all fitted with solar panels, which should be done by 1 March, 2009, the 10.4-hectare park will start feeding electricity into the nearby high voltage power grid.

What Solaire-Direct is building here is France's largest photovoltaic park. The company, founded two years ago, wanted the place to be a "showcase" for their expertise, spectacular and visible from afar. They've definitely succeeded in this ...

"Generating 4.2 MW, which will amount to an input of 9 GWh per year into the national grid, is not trivial," says Thierry Lepercq, Solaire-Direct's president. "It is enough to meet the needs of 4,000 households, the equivalent of the village of Vinon."

Of course, the electricity produced by the 18,860 solar panels will not go directly into the Vinonnais's appliances. Regulations require EDF, the French utility, to buy all privately-produced electricity before feeding it into the grid.

"The system holds because the economic model is a bit artificial," acknowledges Claude Cheilan, Vinon's newly-elected mayor. "For the next 20 years, EDF will buy the electricity produced by this park at three times the market price..."

Solaire-Direct, who has invested 18 million euros in the venture, expects a return on investment in 15 to 20 years. But Vinon's photovoltaic park is not only about business. Says Thierry Lepercq: "We will be paying the Manosque Communauté de communes, to which Vinon belongs, some 60 to 70,000 euros per year in professional tax. We have decided to match half that sum and give it to the village to promote local initiatives in the field of renewable energies."

As for the farmer who signed a 40-year lease with Solaire-Direct, he'll soon be able to bring his sheep back to their familiar pasture: all 10.4 hectares will be seeded and planted with native grass and forbs. "It will grow fast," says Sébastien Davière, the engineer in charge of construction. "Then the place will become much less oppressive ..."