Paris, April 19, 2022 – EDF Renouvelables, one of the leaders in France in renewable energies, has signed a partnership with Sanofi to build and then operate a self-consumption ground-mounted solar power plant with a power of 4 MW. This photovoltaic plant will supply the Sanofi factory in Aramon, in Gard, with renewable electricity from next year.
Construction work has just started on the site. The earthworks and site preparation phase, which is carried out by Axel Sud, a local company, is underway; commissioning of the plant is planned for early 2023.
Located on the grounds of the Sanofi Aramon industrial zone, the plant, with an installed capacity of 4 MW, will directly supply the chemical and biotechnology production plant and cover part of its energy consumption.
As part of this partnership with Sanofi, EDF Renewables has undertaken to build, operate and then transfer the photovoltaic plant to Sanofi at the end of the contract. The Sanofi Aramon factory will thus benefit from the entire renewable electricity production of the solar power plant. The contract also allows Sanofi to secure part of its electricity supply at a fixed price.
The partnership between EDF Renewables and Sanofi constitutes an innovative solution to meet the challenges of industrial companies who wish to control the cost of their energy supply while contributing to the energy transition and the decarbonization of industry.
For Sofiane Boukebbous, South-East and Overseas Area Director of EDF Renewables:
“The EDF Renewables teams are very proud to conclude this innovative partnership with Sanofi around this solar power plant. Supporting industrial companies in the consumption of carbon-free energy places us in the dynamic of the industrial ecological transition of the CleanTech Valley of which EDF and Sanofi are both founding members. This new solar project also contributes to advancing the objectives of the EDF Solar Plan which aims to make the Group a solar leader in France with 30 % market share by 2035.”
For Denis Largeau, Director of the Sanofi Aramon site: “This project concretely reflects the group’s desire to put environmental sustainability at the heart of its CSR strategy. It is a source of pride for the Aramon site to host a project of this magnitude, the largest photovoltaic power plant signed by Sanofi to date. This is the direct result of years of investment in the energy efficiency of our site, which is also ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 certified.”
Innovative and contributing to the economic development of businesses and energy efficiency, the project benefits from a subsidy from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Occitanie Region awarded this subsidy to the project as part of its Positive Energy policy which consists of tripling its production of local renewable energies by 2050.
