French airport operator Groupe ADP, manufacturer and producer Urbasolar and supplier GazelEnergie have announced the signing of a direct renewable energy supply agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, for a period of 21 years Groupe ADP will purchase the electricity production of three new photovoltaic solar parks, to be built by Urbasolar. GazelEnergie will ensure the integration of these new renewable watt-hours into Groupe ADP’s consumption for the first three years.
These three new solar farms will be commissioned in 2021 in the Gard, Var and Charente departments of France, making Groupe ADP the first company in the country to supply its electricity from solar parks specifically built in France for its own needs. They will be developed on a 40ha (100 acre) site for a total production of 47GWh per year, the equivalent consumption of a town of 15,000 inhabitants. The solar parks will supply 10% of the electricity required to operate the three Paris airports, i.e. almost half of the lighting requirements.
This project is part of Groupe ADP’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. The development of renewable energies is central to the company’s environmental policy to reduce its CO2 emissions. Almost two-thirds (65%) of the group’s energy is now of renewable origin. This will increase to 100% in 2021, 10% of which will be from solar farms built for Groupe ADP.
“In terms of environmental policy, Groupe ADP is today taking a decisive step in the supply of its electricity. Up to now we have been consuming green energy, but we will now be producing green energy in France, thanks to the long-term support of Urbasolar and GazelEnergie.
“The next step will be to produce green energy ourselves as a part of our consumption, as we already do for our heating needs. We are already preparing the integration of photovoltaic solar energy into new infrastructure projects such as car parks and real estate buildings, as well as our Terminal 4 project,” said Edward Arkwright, deputy CEO of Groupe ADP.