Astaffort

Electricity generation is still the world's biggest CO2 emitter. In 2018, 41% of total emissions were due to energy combustion.

To limit the impact of global warming, it is essential to develop so-called renewable energies, i.e. energies from sources that nature constantly renews, and whose exploitation generates very little waste and polluting emissions.

France's target is to generate 40% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. At the end of 2022, France was barely at 20% of its electricity production from renewable energies, hence the importance of accelerating the development of renewable energies.

Sources from the French Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion:

• Sectoral breakdown of CO2 emissions worldwide

• The importance of renewable energies

France is one of the very first countries in the world to have enshrined the goal of carbon neutrality in its legislation through the Climate Energy Law of November 8, 2019. Our country thus plans to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

• Upstream, the August 17, 2015 law on energy transition for green growth set ambitious targets:
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions to contribute to the European target of a 40% reduction in these emissions by 2030 (compared with the 1990 baseline);
• Reduce our consumption of fossil fuels by 30% by 2030;
• Reduce the share of nuclear power to 50% of electricity production by 2025;
• Increase the share of renewable energies to 32% of final energy consumption by 2030 and 40% of electricity production;
• Halve our final energy consumption by 2050 (compared with 2012);
• Reduce the volume of waste sent to landfill by 50% by 2050.

To achieve this, as well as to diversify the energy mix and ensure security of supply and competitiveness, the Multiannual Energy Program (PPE) sets out the Government's energy policy priorities for the next ten years.
This roadmap will make it possible to reduce emissions from energy production and consumption, and put France on the trajectory needed to achieve complete decarbonization of energy by 2050.

Source : La transition énergétique pour la croissance verte

Within the framework of the Pluriannual Energy Program (PPE), the renewable electricity and heat targets for photovoltaics are :

• 20.1 GW by 2023

• 35.1 to 44.0 GW by 2028

The increase in installed photovoltaic production capacity involves the installation of both ground-mounted and roof-mounted panels.

By the end of 2021, the solar industry had achieved 57% of its 2023 targets.

Source : www.statistiques.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/edition-numerique/chiffres-cles-energies-renouvelables-2021/4-objectifs-dans-le-cadre-de

www.pv-magazine.fr/2021/10/22/le-solaire-realise-57-des-objectifs-du-ppe-pour-atteindre-les-20100-mw-en-2023/

The concept of agrivoltaics refers to the synergy between agricultural production and photovoltaic energy production, coexisting on the same land in the interests of farmers and the local community. Farming must remain the primary activity, while electricity production is secondary.

The installation of agrivoltaic power plants offers several crucial advantages for livestock farming:
• Adaptation to climate change;
• Protection of fodder resources against excess heat, enabling grass growth to be spread out over a longer period of time;
• Improved resource quality;
• Improved animal welfare, as animals are protected against bad weather and high temperatures (by being sheltered under the panels) and against predators (the plants are fenced and video-monitored);
• Input-free land management, a lever for the development of biodiversity.

Crops also benefit from the numerous advantages of agrivoltaic power plants:

• Adaptation to climate change;
• Protection of crops against climatic excesses (frost, extreme heat) and bad weather (hail, wind);
• Reduced water and heat stress for plants thanks to shading;
• Improved product quality;
• Water savings linked to a reduction in potential evapotranspiration (ETP);
• Input-free land management, a lever for the development of biodiversity (crop auxiliaries, etc.).

Agrivoltaic power plants offer a number of practical and economic advantages for farmers:

• Secure land ownership for the duration of the plant's operation (minimum 30 years);
• Help to set up or consolidate a farm (financing of equipment and farm machinery);
• Develop a farm (possibility of increasing the number of livestock and the area farmed);
• Diversify and consolidate the farmer's income;
• Contribute to the development of renewable energies and the energy transition.

Agrivoltaic power plants bring significant benefits to the areas where they are installed:

• Support for collective agricultural projects;
• A response to the growing demand for local agricultural products;
• Development of the local economic fabric and supporting sectors;
• A means of combating soil artificialisation and the destruction of agricultural land;
• A genuine territorial project in line with the community's approach (PAT, short circuits, etc.);
• A strong commitment to the development of renewable energies and participation in the energy transition;
• Additional tax revenue for the community (IFER, TFB, etc.).

In this specific case, and given the regulatory framework in force, all three parties (landowner, plot operator and Renner Energies) are committed:

• Renner Energies signs an emphyteutic lease with the plot owner,
• Renner Energies also signs an interface agreement with the farmer, to formalize the practices to be respected on the land concerned,
• Then there is a rural lease, signed between the owner and the operator of the project's agricultural plot.

Water run-off at the foot of structures is indeed an issue we take into account. In order to limit the impact, the type of structure used must be decided according to the agricultural activity being carried out, and to limit the effects of water waves that could harm the crop.

Crops on the various plots will remain as they are currently farmed by each of the owners and operators.

The crops are therefore :

• Cereals (wheat, barley, rapeseed, grain corn)
• Mixed legumes (e.g. peas)
• Sunflowers
• Sorghum
• Vines

The challenge of agrivoltaics is to combine agricultural production with electricity generation, using solar panels.

In order to design a project that takes into account local specificities while preserving its economic model, studies were carried out:

• Preliminary agricultural study entrusted to the Chamber of Agriculture (Lot-et-Garonne): project design in consultation with the farmer, study of the project's impact on the local agricultural economy and proposal of measures to avoid, reduce and collectively compensate for impacts.
• Environmental inventories (fauna, flora, habitats, wetlands)
• Site analysis (physical environment, human environment, natural environment, landscape and heritage)
• Soil studies
• Assessment of connection constraints to the Casteljaloux substation

These studies are carried out by specialized engineering firms. Although commissioned by Renner Energies, these consultancies are independent: their results are analyzed and/or reused by the French government, and the credibility of the consultancies is directly influenced by the veracity and accuracy of the studies they produce.

The project will be carried out on private land only, according to the land registry and the chosen zone. Renner Energies met with the landowners concerned by each of the zones before launching the studies.

The consultation launched today is a voluntary initiative. Renner Energies carries out all its projects in consultation with local stakeholders.

From a regulatory point of view, the consultation phase takes the form of a public inquiry. It takes place during the appraisal phase, after the file has been submitted to the Prefecture.