2022 represented one of the strongest years for battery storage growth recorded in the country, according to Energy Storage news almost 900MW of storage projects will come online by the end of next year. Some of the growth includes expansion to the country’s largest storage project at Dunkirk, where TotalEnergies now has an installed capacity of 61MW. Transmission operator RTE will hope to introduce more tenders which will further accelerate growth, in this article, we will introduce three French developers that will be driving this growth. All of the developers can be found on our list of large European developers of storage energy.
Neoen – wind, solar, and storage developer based in Paris
The Parisian-based group is one of the world’s leading developers of green energy and boasts an installed capacity of 5.6GW. Neoen has developed renewable energy assets across the globe including Australia, France, Finland, Mexico, Mozambique, and Zambia. The group aims to increase its portfolio to 10GW by 2025 and will rely upon storage projects to achieve this target. The French group already operates two of the world’s largest lithium-ion batteries which are located in Australia, the 300MW Victorian Big Battery represents their cornerstone battery storage project. The firm continues to grow its storage portfolio thanks to a successful bid for a 219MW site located in Australia. The project is located in the southwest region of Western Australia and is expected to be fully operational by 2024.
Total Energies – solar, wind, and storage developer based in Paris
TotalEnergies is a large-scale developer of green infrastructure assets throughout France. The firm has a workforce of over 500 located across 130 countries, striving towards achieving a net-zero climate. The French group operates the largest battery-based storage facility in the country, with its flagship Dunkirk site. The storage project has an installed capacity of 61MW, TotalEnergies was awarded the site thanks to a tender launched by RTE in 2020. The firm continues to grow its battery capacity thanks to a 25MW storage project located in Antwerp. The project is expected to become operational by 2024 and will be in addition to the country’s 130MW storage capacity.
Corsica Sole – solar and storage developer based in Corse
Corsica Sole has an installed solar capacity of 100MW and over 150MWh of projects with energy storage. Founded in 2009, the French group strives to reduce the carbon impact and has become a leading French independent power producer. In December 2022, the group completed what was the largest battery project in continental Europe at the time thanks to their 50MW battery storage project in Wallonia. The site was developed alongside Yuso and InnoVent, with MegaPack batteries supplied by Tesla.
Image Source: Thomas Reaburg via Unsplash (18.07.2023)
