Solar panels in France: a steeple chase

[DominicBest]

The two closest farmers to me both have large barns with solar panels covering the roofs. The barns were built and paid for by the electricity company.

[Chappers51]

If my memory serves me well the roof on the car park at Bergerac Airport is made up of solar panels.

[Doug]

If my memory serves me well the roof on the car park at Bergerac Airport is made up of solar panels.

Agree, thought it vg when it was done.

[Oldblueraincoat]

The Leclerc hypermarkets at Pineulh and Langon have them covering the carparks as does the SuperU at Sauveterre du Guyenne - great idea and looks like it will become a standard feature. You can see them on google maps.fr.

[Hotrodder]

I'm only guessing but I suspect there were significant grants or tax incentives to install this sort of thing. I wonder what happens when they begin to degrade in 18 to 20 years. Who stumps up the cash to replace them?

[RobertArthur]

Sometimes they degrade much earlier....In the beginning, around 2009, with exceptional high kWh prices for the production of solar energy, it has indeed been very interesting for farmers and many consultancy firms. Nowadays it is less easy to earn some money with a load of panels on your hangar. Same as it ever was: in the French press with considerable frequency reports about win/win projects taking another turn.

[RobertArthur]

@ Hotrodder, how do they do it, the French farmers? An article in le Journal du Centre of five years ago as a partial answer to your remark about government involvement: "Des agriculteurs du haut Nivernais misent sur le photovoltaïque pour soigner leurs récoltent'.

[RobertArthur]

Reducing your personal carbon footprint looks so easy, a noble cause, just sign here please. Sometimes it means also losing your freedom to move as The Guardian illustrates here: Trapped homeowners. There are similarities between the UK market and France. Promotelec mentions the increasing efforts of the French authorities to do something about the rough edges of this market: " Fraude à la rénovation énergétique : la DGCCRF a contrôlé 693 établissements en 2020".