Picarreau (Jura) will host a 27 MWp solar farm built by Corsica Sole
Developed, built, and operated by CS Solaire, a subsidiary of the Corsica Sole group, the Picarreau solar farm (Jura) will be the largest ever built in Franche-Comté. After three years of development, the project has just entered the operational phase with the start of site preparation. This will be followed by a preventive archaeological survey. The solar farm is scheduled to come online next year.
Providing the annual electricity consumption of 16,500 inhabitants, equivalent to the population of Lons-le-Saunier, the prefecture of the Jura department, the plant will avoid 1,130 tons of CO2 per year.
A local development project
The project has been led for several years by Dominique PELLIN, Mayor of Picarreau, and his municipal team. CS Solaire’s proposal was selected by the municipality in September 2016 following a call for projects. The project was developed by CS Solaire in close collaboration with local stakeholders. The completion of the Picarreau solar farm will be a driver of economic development in the region. The maintenance of the land will be partly carried out by the municipality.
Part of its financing will also come from an original 100% local crowdfunding scheme. The funds will be provided by the municipality and by citizens of the Jura and neighboring departments. Representing the largest participatory capital fundraising initiative in the solar sector in France, the launch of this scheme will be the subject of a specific communication in the coming weeks.
An ambitious environmental component
The solar farm will finally be established on former pastureland, now fallow, which will be restored to its original state by the ONF (Office National des Forêts). The solar farm will thus be able to welcome shepherds from neighboring communities. The construction and operation of the 27-hectare solar farm will be supported by local environmental stakeholders with a program specifically designed to preserve the biodiversity of fauna and flora, as well as to protect wooded areas. An educational trail will be created along the edge of the site.
The project has been designed to ensure that the future power plant complies with the high environmental quality requirements relating to heritage, landscape, soil, air and water quality, as stipulated by regulations. Following a public inquiry, it received a favorable opinion from the investigating commissioner in October 2018 and was given the green light by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), winning the tender in February 2019.