‘- Hanwha Q CELLS supplied 120 of its Q.PEAK-G4.1 300 W solar modules for the project, located in Midi-Pyrénées, France
– The 36 kWp array, installed by C2A and managed by local renewable energy cooperative Enercoop, is the first collective self-consumption PV project in the region
– The solar modules were installed on the rooftop of the Lou Cussou Biocoop store in Saint-Affrique (Aveyron)
[Berlin, Germany, October 1, 2018] Hanwha Q CELLS GmbH (“Hanwha Q CELLS” or “The Company”), the German subsidiary of one of the largest solar cell and module manufacturers in the world, Hanwha Q CELLS Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: HQCL), at the weekend witnessed the inauguration of a solar self-consumption C&I project in France’s Midi-Pyrénées region that was built using Hanwha Q CELLS solar modules.
The 36 kWp installation sits atop the rooftop of the new Lou Cussou Biocoop store in the town of Saint-Affrique (Aveyron), and comprises 120 Q.PEAK-G4.1 300 W solar modules. Store manager Isabelle Gaillard enlisted the expertise of local renewable energy cooperative Enercoop to manage the sales contract that now positions the Biocoop store as a producer of energy. This €45,000 solar project was installed by C2A and inaugurated on September 29.
Cooperative solar energy sharing helping to shape France’s future
All of the solar electricity that the Biocoop store array produces can be shared and consumed locally. Enercoop has entered into a contract arrangement with Enedis, the local electricity distribution network, to distribute the solar electricity to interested business consumers in the nearby locality. Enercoop will also oversee all billing to consumers that sign up to the scheme.
So far, the neighboring Codomier-Masset Veterinary Clinic has signed up to receive and consume electricity from the array, with a further handful of other interested businesses and consumers poised to join the collective operation once the first feedback has been received. Any unused surplus solar energy will be steered towards customers of the Enercoop network, which currently comprises around 5,000 members in the Midi-Pyrénées region.
Collective self-consumption is a growing market in France following the introduction of a 50 MW tender for self-consumption solar projects earlier this year. Uptake of self-consumption projects is now growing, and the model has been welcomed as a means for further liberalizing France’s energy market and helping to make it easier for private and C&I energy consumers to embrace the lower costs and zero emissions that solar electricity stands for. By using Hanwha Q CELLS’ Q.PEAK-G4.1 300 W solar modules, Biocoop will benefit from lower LCOE and high power output thanks to the modules’ Q.ANTUM monocrystalline cell technology that makes them an ideal solution for large rooftop installations.
