Multimillion-euro grant for first 1 MWp French and Mediterranean floating solar farm

French company SolarinBlue has been awarded €6 million in funding for its floating solar project by the French government as part of the France 2030 program, operated by ADEME, the French Agency for Ecological Transition.

The funding will support the Méga Sète pre-commercial demonstrator project for a floating solar farm developed by SolarinBlue in partnership with Technip Energies, the University of Montpellier, and Sorbonne Université – Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-Sur-Mer.

Building on the technological advances of its first demonstrator, Sun’Sète, which it will replace, the Méga Sète project will develop and deploy a 1 MWp offshore solar farm to supply low-carbon electricity to the port of Sète-Frontignan.

“Méga Sète will be certified for waves of more than 10 metres: our technology is ready to be used in ports, island territories and integrated into offshore wind farms,” said Aurélien Croq, Chief Executive Officer of SolarinBlue.

Located two kilometers from the coast in the Sète-Frontignan commercial port district on the former offshore oil unloading station site, the project, anticipated to be the first 1 MWp offshore solar farm in France and the Mediterranean Sea, is scheduled to be commissioned before the end of 2025 and.

“SolarinBlue has brought together leading industrial and academic players at Méga Sète to set the first milestone in the industrialization of our technology,” said Antoine Retailleau, co-founder of SolarinBlue.

According to the French firm, Méga Sète will cover one hectare and is expected to produce over 1,300 MWh annually, with electricity being transported via a submarine cable to the port of Sète-Frontignan, supporting its strategy to decarbonize energy consumption.

SolarinBlue’s technology is compatible with fixed and floating offshore wind farms, allowing shared connections to reduce infrastructure costs and increase renewable electricity production at the same site. The company intends to create offshore wind-solar hybrid farms to launch Europe’s first 1 GW projects by 2030.

The project is set to reap the benefits of SolarinBlue’s technology and Technip Energies’ offshore expertise, the University of Montpellier’s support in offshore systems electronics, and Sorbonne Université – Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-Sur-Mer’s study of environmental impacts. The Occitanie Region supported the project and facilitated SolarinBlue’s partnership with the University of Montpellier and Sorbonne Université.