French company SolarinBlue has been awarded €6m ($6.44m) by the French Government for its offshore solar project as part of the France 2030 programme.
The programme, operated by the French Agency for Ecological Transition, ADEME, will support the Méga Sète pre-commercial demonstrator project for a floating solar farm in the Sète-Frontignan commercial port district, on the site of a former oil unloading station.
The farm will be built by SolarinBlue in partnership with Technip Energies, the University of Montpellier and Sorbonne University’s Banyuls Oceanological Observatory.
The project will build on the technological advances and expertise accumulated through the first demonstrator, Sun'Sète, which was inaugurated in 2023 and will be replaced by Méga Sète. The Sun'Sète pilot project was able to generate 300kW of power, with 12m-long modules designed to withstand high seas.
Commissioning for Méga Sète is scheduled for the end of 2025, and it is expected to be the first 1MWp (megawatt peak) offshore solar farm in France and the Mediterranean Sea.
Aurélien Croq, chief executive of SolarinBlue, said: “Méga Sète will be certified for waves of more than 10m. Our technology is ready to be used in ports, island territories and integrated into offshore wind farms.”
According to SolarinBlue, the solar farm will cover one hectare and is expected to produce more than 1.3 gigawatt-hours annually, with the electricity generated being transported via a submarine cable to the port of Sète-Frontignan, supporting the region’s strategy to decarbonise energy consumption.
SolarinBlue’s technology is compatible with fixed and floating offshore wind farms, allowing shared connections to reduce infrastructure costs and increase renewable electricity production at the same site.
Antoine Retaillieau, co-founder of SolarinBlue, said: “SolarinBlue has brought together leading industrial and academic players at Méga Sète to set the first milestone in the industrialisation of our technology.”
SolarinBlue’s project comes as France is looking to further develop solar power. In April, French authorities announced plans to launch tenders to supply 240MW of solar power capacity along the country’s highways.
