The energy transition's shady side

The planning and construction of the "Mas Balande" plant took a total of three years. As this is Louis Vial's first PV project, Tecsol supported the project. "Fortunately, this project was supported by Tescol. Without the professional help it would not have been possible to successfully complete the tendering process."
The PV plant is located in a zone d'aménagement concerté (ZAC). This means that visitors of an adjacent bowling alley, a cinema and several restaurants and shops use the parking lot. For Vial, pragmatic considerations were the main focus during the construction: "If we want the energy transition to be successful, we have to make sure that we combine the pleasant with the useful. As with our PV system, for example: the idea of installing a parking area that is characterized by a high level of comfort was most important to me. The fact that the roofing is also suitable for PV is a realization that was only made in a second planning step. Since it is also important to me to strengthen the local economy, we decided to have the plant built by local companies."
Since 17 June 2019, the plant, which has received state subsidies as the winner of the CRE4 tender in the Complément de Rénumération funding scheme, has been feeding electricity into the Enedis distribution grid in France. The Complément de Rénumération guarantees the operator secure revenues from the sale of the electricity it generates. He receives the proceeds from his direct marketer and from EDF (the French energy supply company) both a marketing premium and an energy source-specific premium. In France, the subsidies for renewable energy plants are put out to tender by the energy authority CRE in order to manage the additions in capacity accordingly. Under the French subsidy regime, subsidies for PV systems are awarded in the CRE4 tenders.
In order to guarantee a smooth operation, the PV system is connected to a control unit that sends a message to the operator via SMS in the event of an error in the system. As with the system's monitoring unit, Tecsol also supported Louis Vial in the selection of a marketer .
"Both my bank and Tecsol supported me in my search for an appropriate marketer . This is how I came across Centrales Next. The conditions that Centrales Next could offer me, combined with a corresponding guarantee, convinced me. It's also very reassuring to know that you're in business with one of the largest players in the market." For Louis Vial, the only shadow of the energy revolution remains the one in which visitors park their cars.
 

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