TotalEnergies and Holcim have inaugurated what they say is Europe’s largest floating solar power plant dedicated to self-consumption, in Obourg, Belgium.
The facility, which boasts a capacity of 31 MW, is situated in a former chalk quarry that has been rehabilitated into a lake. It will produce renewable electricity for Holcim’s industrial facilities in the area.
Decarbonisation efforts
“We are delighted to inaugurate this floating solar power plant, which demonstrates TotalEnergies’ teams’ ability to innovate to meet the needs of our partner Holcim, whom we support along with other industrial customers in their efforts to decarbonise their operations,” commented Olivier Greiner, managing director, Retail Power & Gas Belgium, TotalEnergies.
The facility is expected to generate around 30 GWh of electricity annually.
In order to maximise landscape integration, more than 700 meters of horizontal directional drilling were carried out to connect the panels to the electrical substation, ensuring limited disruption to the surrounding landscape, TotalEnergies said in a statement.
Holcim is a major producer of construction materials such as cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates and dry mortars. Globally, the company employs some 45,000 people, while in Belgium, it has 985 employees across 26 locations. Read more here.
