Lafitte-Vigordane, May 14th, 2025. Q ENERGY and Velto Renewables have inaugurated the Milhat solar farm, a 9.2 MWp installation built on a former quarry turned pastureland in the Haute-Garonne commune of Lafitte-Vigordane. Local officials, including Mayor Karine Brun, joined the teams to celebrate the project’s completion—seven years after development began in 2018.
Occupying a 9-hectare site, the solar farm comprises over 15,800 photovoltaic panels and will generate enough clean energy to power 5,800 residents annually. The project will also prevent an estimated 3,146 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year. Since March, the plant is 50% owned by Velto Renewables, an independent green energy producer.
A Dual-Purpose Site: Solar Power and Agriculture
What sets the Milhat project apart is its integration with ongoing agricultural activity. The former quarry was restored to pastureland in 2015 and is home to a sheep-grazing operation. From the outset, Q ENERGY designed the solar park to coexist with and enhance this land use.
A grazing agreement ensures that the sheep can continue to graze under the panels, with additional measures such as replanting grass every five years to maintain pasture quality. The shaded environment provided by the panels contributes to animal welfare and supports plant growth. An independent agricultural expert will monitor the site during the initial operational years to ensure optimal conditions are maintained.
“The dual use of the land is a key part of the project’s DNA,” said Véronique Sauzay, Regional Solar Manager at Q ENERGY. “We wanted to ensure the solar park strengthened — not displaced the existing farming activity.”
For Velto Renewables, the Milhat project represents much more than just a clean energy asset: it is a model of sustainable land use, designed to generate lasting economic and social benefits at local level. “This project is not just a simple transposition: it is part of a much broader national framework, serving the energy transition and sustainable regional development”, said Laura de Matos, ESG coordinator for Velto Renewables, at the inauguration.
A Project Built on Resilience
Milhat’s journey to completion reflects the resilience of both the project team and local stakeholders. While the project faced no local opposition, global challenges—including the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine—caused significant delays and raw material price hikes.
Originally selected in a 2022 call for tenders by the Commission de Régulation de l’Énergie (CRE), with historically low rates, the project became unviable due to surging costs. However, regulatory flexibility allowed Q ENERGY to reapply in 2024, securing a more viable rate and ensuring the project’s continuation.
“This solar farm is the result of strong local support and a committed team that adapted to unprecedented challenges,” Sauzay said. “It’s a model of how energy transition projects can be resilient, sustainable, and rooted in the local community.”
About Q ENERGY
Q ENERGY is Europe’s provider of holistic solutions for green power plants. The company is active along the entire value chain of renewable energy projects – from solar parks, onshore and offshore wind projects to energy storage solutions and hybrid power plants. More than 550 employees in the Berlin headquarters and further international offices are currently driving a development pipeline of +11 GW across Europe. Building on more than 25 years of experience and 2.5 GW completed renewable energy assets, Q ENERGY is currently active in Spain, Portugal, France, and Germany as well as in Italy. Together with its independent sister company Hanwha Qcells, Q ENERGY forms the energy division of its mother company and top-tier Korean enterprise Hanwha Solutions Corporation.
About Velto Renewables
Velto Renewables is a renewable energy independent power producer with a long-term asset ownership strategy. Established in 2020 and backed by the global investment group CDPQ, Velto Renewables is committed to contributing to the decarbonization of the global economy and the European energy transition by investing in and developing an international and multi-technology portfolio of renewable energy projects. Velto currently owns more than 280 MW of operating and under construction solar PV and wind projects in Spain and France, manages a 25% investment in a 630 MW offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom, develops 1+GW of greenfield projects in Iberia, and is seeking to grow its portfolio by becoming a local player in the countries and regions where it invests.
For more information, visit veltorenewables.com.
Media Contact
Q ENERGY Solutions SE
External Communications
Amanda Baudry, Christian Köhn
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Velto Renewables
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Safe-Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other things, the quotations from management in this press release and the operations and business outlook of Q ENERGY and Velto Renewables contain forward-looking statements. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, neither Q ENERGY nor Velto Renewables undertakes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
