Client
Port de Sète-Frontigan
Funding
Equity
ADEME - French Energy Agency
Evolen
Sun'Sète - Port of Sète, France
The Sun'Sète project, inagurated on the 17th of March 2023, is the first offshore floating farm in France and the Mediterranean Sea.
Sun'Sète involves several successive stages, the first of which consists of the installation of two floating units.
The project will grow to 25 units in its final version for a total installed power of 300 kWp and a surface area of half a hectare.
The estimated production will then be 400 MWh/year and will be transported by a submarine cable to supply renewable electricity to the infrastructures of the port of Sète.
Sète belongs to the top 10 of all French industrial ports.
The project was developed by SolarinBlue in 2021 and obtained all the administrative authorisations in 2022. The environmental aspects of the project have been studied by the French authorities and with a dedicated environmental impact study, by an independant contractor.
Characteristics
- 300 kiloWatts
- 0,5 hectares
- 1,5km from the jetty
- 25 floating units
A disruptive and patented technology
SolarinBlue’s technology brings together completely original innovations. Two patents have been filed and others will be filed shortly. The float is distinguished by four major innovations that make it robust and competitive:
An economical solution
A lightweight, eco-friendly design that is 90% recyclable thanks to a treated steel frame and recyclable High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) floats.
Robust technology
The large air draft and maximum buoyancy of the floating structures protect the panels and maximize their durability. The panels never come into contact with the waves.
The floating structure withstands 12-meter high waves and 200 km/h winds
An ecological and innovative anchorage
SolarinBlue has developed an environmentally friendly helical anchor installation system, which minimizes the impact on the seabed.
Thanks to a tensioned anchor, the anchor's footprint on the seabed is less than 1m² per float.
Modular supports
The modules are interconnectable and easy to deploy to form parks.
The design of the structures is adapted to each site according to the weather and sea conditions.
Project schedule
- December 2019: creation of SolarinBlue in Paris
- March 2020 : opening of the Indian branch (Mangalore)
- November 2020: tank tests of a full-scale prototype
- 2021: opening of the Montpellier branch
- April 2021: launch of environmental and feasibility studies for the installation of a first prototype in the port of Sète
- March 2022: obtained approval from MoEF&CC (Govt of India) for Mangalore project.
- May 2022: obtaining administrative authorisations for the Sun'Sète project
- September 2022: construction of the Sète prototype begins
- March 2023: launch of the first modules off Sète
- End of 2023: launch of all the floating units, connection of the submarine cable to the consumption site
Over the next two years, SolarinBlue team will study the marine behavior of the floats, the photovoltaic production and will carry out maintenance operations on the demonstrator. These studies will confirm the potential of this proprietary technology and prepare for its large-scale development.