Ground-mounted solar power plants: momentum is accelerating in Île-de-France

An accelerating dynamic

The acceleration is marked in 2022 and 2023 with several installations: in Gargenville (78), Grandpuits (77), Triel-sur-Seine (78) and Etrechy (91). By mid-2024, two power plants have already been inaugurated, in Courtry (77) and Souppes-sur-Loing (77), and the first power plant in the Val d'Oise is under construction in Vémars (95).

20 power plants planned to triple the power produced

At least twenty ground-based power plants are currently planned in Île-de-France, making it possible to reach a cumulative power of around 370 MWc and thus triple the current power. The production of solar power plants in Île-de-France would still represent less than 1% of regional electricity consumption: this clearly illustrates the room for improvement that is still available on a regional scale.

Efficiency almost doubled in ten years

Solar power plants are becoming more and more efficient in terms of space consumption. For an equivalent surface area, a solar power plant now produces two to three times more electricity. For example, if we compare the first power plant in the Paris region in Sourdun (5 MWc for 12 ha) to the most recent one in Souppes-sur-Loing (9 MWc for 8 ha), the latter offers a surface power of more than double.

Installed on degraded areas, such as polluted wastelands, embankments, waste or old quarries, they become a new marker of landscapes. In recent years a change of scale has taken place, which is still ongoing.

But despite the strong momentum observed, the many projects and the opportunities present, future production in the Paris region will be modest compared to current regional electricity consumption, and especially compared to that projected, in particular via the RTE Futurs énergies 2050 scenarios (data centers, electric vehicles, Grand Paris Express, heat pumps, electrification of industrial processes, etc.). It remains important to place this development in the more general framework of the development of renewable energy sources, and in a diversified strategy of the three energy sectors (electricity, gas and heat).