EDF Renewables launches the construction of a photovoltaic power plant on the site of the Creys-Malville nuclear power plant under deconstruction, in Isère

Paris, April 29, 2022 – EDF Renewables is launching work on a 12 MW ground-mounted solar power plant on the grounds of the Creys-Malville nuclear power plant, currently being dismantled. The future plant contributes to EDF's Solar Plan, which aims to make the Group one of the main players in solar energy in France, with 30 % market share by 2035.

Located in the department of Isère, the solar power plant will cover an area of 10 hectares. Its production will supply the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 6,000 inhabitants, or the equivalent of the populations of Morestel and Creys-Mépieu combined. By choosing this location, the EDF group is complementing its investments in the region by bringing new expertise in low-carbon electricity production.

After the preliminary earthworks operations undertaken in October 2021, EDF Renewables is now launching construction work on the power plant. These will begin with the installation of structures supporting the photovoltaic panels. These operations will be followed by the installation of 22,000 photovoltaic panels, from summer 2022. Commissioning is planned for early 2023.
The solar power plant project will generate local economic benefits complementary to those of the dismantling site, from its construction phase, in particular with the use of Brunet TP, a local company for carrying out earthworks operations. Residents located near the power plant will also have the opportunity to invest in its construction from June through a crowdfunding campaign.

On the Creys-Malville site, EDF operates a fuel storage facility and is carrying out dismantling operations for the Superphénix reactor. Commissioned in 1986 and shut down since 1997, it is today the largest nuclear reactor under decommissioning in the world.

For Sofiane Boukebbous, South-East and Overseas Area Director of EDF Renewables: “We are pleased to launch the construction of the solar power plant on the site of the Creys-Malville nuclear power plant being dismantled. This project is the result of close collaboration between the nuclear power plant and EDF Renewables teams. It symbolizes the continuity of low-carbon energy production and the know-how of the Creys site teams in terms of nuclear dismantling. This new project contributes to the implementation of the EDF Solar Plan.

For Mathieu Ponnet, Director of the EDF Creys-Malville site: “We are proud to welcome this future CO2-neutral energy production facility to the Creys-Malville site and to support our colleagues at EDF Renewables in its creation. This 100% EDF collaboration illustrates our active participation in the challenges of energy transition, embodied by the Group's purpose. By carrying out the construction of a photovoltaic operating park and the deconstruction of SUPERPHENIX side by side, we are once again demonstrating the complementarity of energies and the company's capacity to ensure the complete life cycle of all its installations. industrial.”