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    Voltalia to build Solar PV park at the Guiana Space Centre

    Dec. 28, 2021
    It will generate 4.2 MW of solar energy and reduce the site's electricity bill by 25%
    Image credit Camille Gévaudan - Wikimedia Commons
    Vega Launch Pad 61cb5b9d63065

    Renewable energy developer Voltalia will build a 5-hectare photovoltaic park at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.

    The park will have a capacity to generate 4.2MW of solar energy. It is expected to be operational by June 2023. The Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, which owns the Guiana Space Centre land, will finance the construction of the park.

    The construction of the facility will cost EUR 5 million and benefit from the French Recovery Plan. The project is part of the Kourou space base’s green program, which includes two photovoltaic farms and two biomass plants.

    These plants will provide green electricity and cooling for the space center. The green program aims for 90% renewable energy to power the Guiana Space Center. It will help reduce its reliance on the Guiana EDF network and reduce its electricity bill by 25%.

    The Guiana Space Center (CSG), Europe's spaceport, has been operational since 1968 and is funded by the 22 member states of the European Space Agency (ESA). Located in French Guiana, CSG is the launch pad for Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega rockets.

    The energy transition plan for the Guiana Space Center also includes the renovation and construction of more energy efficient buildings and the use of green propellants for launchers. 

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.