The Giuncaggio power plant opens up new prospects for solar energy with storage and energy policies

Corsica Sole, Corsica’s leading solar energy producer, today inaugurated the Giuncaggio power plant (Haute-Corse). With a capacity of 5 MWp and 7.5 MWh of storage, it will produce 7,000 MWh per year, supplying energy to 3,500 people.

Giuncaggio is one of a group of four power plants that make up the largest solar energy program with storage ever undertaken in Corsica. Winners of the CRE ZNI tender in mid-2016, they represent a combined capacity of 13 MWp and storage capacity of 20 MWh. They will meet the annual electricity consumption of 10,000 inhabitants. To manage them, Corsica Sole has designed a highly sophisticated smart grid system that optimizes production forecasts the day before for the following day, down to the minute, and then arbitrates in real time between energy storage and release.

With this program, solar/storage solutions are being deployed on a large scale in France for the first time. Corsica Sole is establishing itself as one of the French leaders in this field. Storage makes it possible to consume solar electricity both day and night. Better still, by feeding it back into the grid on a large scale at peak times, the amount of fossil fuel energy needed to meet consumption peaks is reduced. This is why, as the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) pointed out in early September, “battery storage of electricity is a major challenge for the energy transition.”

Solar/storage solutions thus open up new perspectives for energy policies, particularly in non-interconnected areas (NIAs). For Paul ANTONIOTTI, President of Corsica Sole, “aiming for 100% renewable energy is becoming possible. In Corsica, these systems are paving the way for a less carbon-intensive energy mix.”

While the next Corsican Energy Program is under discussion, a study by Corsica Sole shows that a massive investment plan in solar energy would make it possible to replace an oil-fired power plant in 10 years. Solar energy is also benefiting from falling prices for panels and batteries. “It has become, explains Michael COUDYSER, CEO of Corsica Sole, the most competitive energy in the world, both ecologically and economically.”

In Giuncaggio, production is further maximized through the use of high-performance technologies. Corsica Sole has chosen Tesla’s Powerpack lithium-ion batteries, among the most efficient on the market, and high-efficiency SunPower panels. Installed on trackers, the panels (27,000 m²) pivot to follow the sun throughout the day, optimizing production. To finance this €20 million investment, Corsica Sole relied on the Caisse d’Epargne Provence Alpes Corse and BPI banks and the Eurofideme 3 investment fund managed by MIROVA.