Green energy: Lafarge invests €14 million to set up more than 43,000 solar panels on its site

To fulfil its environmental commitment, the cement factory Lafarge Holcim intends to install photovoltaic panels to produce green energy. A €14 million investment aimed at producing electricity for the factory and the public electrical grid by 2023. The solar park will be located in the largest French cement factory in Saint-Pierre-la-Cour, Mayenne, Atlantic France. 

The site of Lafarge in Saint-Pierre-la-Cour relies on 170 employees working in the cement factory. It has a production capacity of 1.6 million annual tonnes. This represents the cement quantity needed to build 250 homes a day! 

Cement production was known as a polluting industry, but Lafarge keeps pushing for the best environmental practices. On its website, the company highlights its efforts: “we spearhead the transition towards low-carbon construction and are the leader in promoting a circular economy, from alternative fuels to concrete recycling”.

This ambition is behind the €14 million investment the company is now making, in order to install a solar park on its premises.

43,714 solar panels in an 8 hectare field in Atlantic France

To conduct the project, Lafarge is collaborating with the company Kernum which specialises in developing renewable energy projects. The plan is to install 43,714 photovoltaic panels on 1,987 inclined tables and a total of 8 hectares. 

Globally, the cement company occupies 400 hectares of which 75 hectares are open fields with landfill revegetation developed between 2008 and 2014 with materials from the industrial activity.

The overall power generated by this new unit operating day and night will reach 16.2 megawatt-peak (MWp). In one year, the electric production is estimated to attain 14.000 MWh while being completely transferred to the public electrical grid. A great opportunity for the Atlantic France region known for its innovativeness in renewable energy.