EDF Energies Nouvelles commissions Toucan, an innovative solar power plant with storage

Located in the town of Montsinéry-Tonnégrande on the French Guiana coast, the Toucan solar power plant represents an installed capacity of 5 MWp.

The technology installed on Toucan offers better forecasting of energy production delivered and a reliable service for the network manager:

• The installation's electrical equipment is controlled remotely by innovative software developed by EDF Store & Forecast and EDF Energies Nouvelles, which provides the network manager with very precise forecasts of daily production;
• The installed batteries contribute to the stability of the Guyanese electricity network, in particular by absorbing the excess solar energy produced and restoring it according to the needs of the network. The teams from Sunzil, a local subsidiary at 50% of EDF Energies Nouvelles, were in charge of the solar generator and the storage system was built by the FIAMM-NIDEC consortium.

The Toucan project was awarded to EDF Energies Nouvelles in 2012, as part of a national photovoltaic call for tenders from the French government which included a storage component for Non-Interconnected Zones (ZNI). Compliant with the demanding specifications, the innovative nature of the project lies in the improvement of the management of electricity production to compensate for the relative fragility of the ZNI electricity network.

Antoine Cahuzac, Managing Director of EDF Energies Nouvelles, declared on the occasion of the commissioning of the installation: “The Toucan solar power plant, equipped with an innovative storage system on a commercial scale, marks a new technological advance for the development of the sector. It also represents the culmination of important research work carried out by the EDF Energies Nouvelles teams and those of the EDF Group which would certainly not have been possible without the support, for several years, of local authorities and the State in the context of the concrete implementation of the Energy Transition. »

The plant's production is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of more than 4,000 Guyanese homes with more than 55,000 First Solar thin film technology solar panels. The electricity is sold to EDF under a 20-year purchase contract.

During its construction phase, the Toucan solar power plant mobilized up to fifty people on site. Regarding the operation phase, EDF EN Services, a dedicated subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles, is responsible for managing the operation and maintenance of the plant in conjunction with the Sunzil and FIAMM-NIDEC teams operating on site.