Voltalia strikes 25-year corporate solar PPA in France

French renewable power producer Voltalia SA (EPA:VLTSA) has entered into a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for about 143 MW of solar capacity with a unit of passenger and freight transport operator SNCF Mobilites.

The contract with SNCF Energie supports the construction of three new solar power plants in the Gard, Occitanie region, and in the Var, Sud-Provence-Alpes-Cote-d’Azur region. Commissioning of the facilities is expected between 2022 and 2023. Voltalia said that this PPA will translate into a 76% growth of its portfolio at home.

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The three solar parks are seen to produce over 200 GWh of electricity per year and their output should provide between 3% and 4% of the power required for SNCF Mobilites train traffic by 2022-2023, according to the announcement.

Mathias Emmerich, deputy CEO of SNCF Mobilites, explained that this contract covers an unprecedented volume of power and also has an unprecedented length of its term. In addition, the agreed price is “well below" the market price.

“Our goal is to expand our use of renewable PPAs to cover 20% of the traction electricity we consume, so that more than 40% of our power mix will come from renewable sources in two to three years,” Emmerich said.