A new step towards a positive energy agglomeration
Monday, October 11, 2021 - Nîmes Métropole. Carried since 2017 by the company Eléments, developer and producer of renewable energies, the project "Soleil de Mitra" became a reality in October 2021. The project, which will run until February 2022, includes an innovative power plant with 11,000 photovoltaic panels! A technically remarkable large-scale project located on non-constructible areas, in line with the environmental approach of Nîmes Métropole, which aims to become a positive energy territory by 2050.
Located in the communes of Saint-Gilles and Garons, the Mitra business park, for which Nîmes Métropole has entrusted the management of the concession to the Société d'aménagement du territoire (SAT), is at the heart of this project by the company Eléments, which will see the light of day in February 2022. " We are delighted to welcome this innovative eco-responsible project to the Agglomeration," emphasizes Franck Proust, President of Nîmes Métropole.
" We are very pleased to see the completion of our first ground-mounted photovoltaic power plant in Occitania, the birthplace of our company," says Pierre-Alexandre Cichostepski, president of Eléments. The plant is part of a project to develop abandoned land in the Mitra urban development zone, located in the immediate vicinity of the A54 freeway.
The future photovoltaic power plant will use five plots of land for a total surface of 6 hectares. It should be noted that these panels will be located on land that cannot be built on because it is located in a flood zone, which is why they will be installed on high piles so as not to be submerged. The works will be designed in an adequate and reinforced structure while the panels and sensitive equipment will be located well above the water level.
The future power plant will produce 7.4 GWh/year, equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of about 3,000 inhabitants. In addition, the atmospheric emissions avoided are estimated at 2,200 tons of CO2 per year. Pierre Lucchini, vice-president of Nîmes Métropole, in charge of renewable energies, is delighted with this real step forward for the ecometropolis. " Our ambition is for Nîmes Métropole to become a positive energy territory by 2050.
What is at stake? Producing more energy than is consumed in the region through renewable energy projects, for example. Valuing abandoned land, fighting climate change, reducing the territory's carbon footprint: this project is fully in line with the Territorial Climate-Air-Energy Plan (PCAET) launched by the Agglo in 2021.
Project History:
- Launch of studies by Elements: early 2017
- Promise to lease signed with SAT: December 2017
- Obtaining the building permit in the communes of Saint-Gilles and Garons: May 2019
- Start of work: October1, 2021
- Commissioning: end of February 2022
Schedule of upcoming works :
- Installation of the life base and fencing: October 2021
- Installation of structures, photovoltaic modules and delivery and transformer stations: November 2021
- Electrical connection: end of January 2022
- Commissioning of the photovoltaic plant: end of February 2022