Marville switches to solar energy

One of the largest photovoltaic power plants in France is being built by our teams, north of the Meuse, not far from the Belgian border. From 2021, it will produce the equivalent of the electrical power consumed by 23000 inhabitants.

A large-scale project!

Work on the Marville photovoltaic power plant, located on a former NATO air base with a surface of 155 hectares, began at the end of May. This start of work followed after 9 months spent cleaning the site, which had been bombed in 1917. Nearly 20000 objects had been detected.

For this exceptional project executed by Enerparc AG, our teams are in charge of:

• The construction of the “Eastern” part of the power plant
• The connection of the park to the source substation. In the end, 200,000 panels will be installed (out of 364,000 in total), bringing the power generated by the Eastern part of the plant to 75 Mwp (out of a total of 150 Mwp).
• The design-implementation and the operation-maintenance of the plant’s 225 kV / 33 kVA 130 MVA source substation (electrical structure connecting the public electricity transmission network to the public electricity distribution network).

Respect for the environment, a major challenge for the construction of a solar power plant.

An impact study was systematically conducted prior to the construction of a power plant It is a technical study aimed at assessing all kinds of consequences, including those for the environment. It’s a sine qua non for obtaining the construction permit.

In the case of the Marville photovoltaic power plant, the Autorité Environnementale (AE - Environmental Authority) has underlined the great quality of this study. The former air base includes areas with very challenging ecological issues. It is a wooded area in which numerous animal species live, such as nesting birds and bats. For the preservation of the natural environment and biodiversity, just 155 of the initial 231 hectares have been retained for the construction of the power plant. Another response to environmental issues: maintenance of the site will be done by 1000 sheep of a local breed, led by a shepherd.

A former military airbase built within the framework NATO, used by the Canadian Air Forces in the 60s and then for the training of the French Army until 2002, the site would be reacquired by the Communauté de Communes du Pays de Montmédy [Community of Communes of the Pays de Montmédy] in 2006 with the objective of setting up a photovoltaic power plant.

Key figures

• Total area: 155 ha
• Total power: 150 MWp
• Number of panels: 364,000
• Equivalent to the yearly annual electrical consumption of 23,000 inhabitants