PARIS: In a groundbreaking step for sustainable energy, the world’s largest floating and mobile solar power plant has been launched along the banks of the Seine in Paris. This cutting-edge photovoltaic installation has been leased by EDF ENR, a subsidiary of the renowned energy company EDF, specifically for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Set to revolutionize green energy usage at major events, the plant is located at the central and bustling Olympic and Paralympic Square in the Athletes’ Village. Here, it supplies clean electricity to a vibrant hub frequented by athletes, journalists, and visitors, and also powers shops and large screens broadcasting live competition footage.
Spanning an impressive 470 square meters with a capacity of 78 kWp—equivalent to the energy consumption of 94 apartments—the solar power plant operates on a self-consumption model. This means it does not feed electricity into the national grid but adjusts its output in real-time to meet the site’s consumption needs.
One of the plant’s key features is its flexibility and ease of setup. The entire system can be deployed and dismantled with significant efficiency. Within less than 24 hours, the installation becomes fully operational. The process starts by opening the shipping container housing the plant, followed by unfolding the pre-wired solar wings. These wings are then connected and plugged into the container, which houses the inverter, protection systems, and all necessary electrical components.
This floating solar plant offers an important advantage over traditional generator-based power solutions for large-scale events like the Olympics, trade fairs, and festivals. Its mobility and ease of setup make it an attractive option for providing temporary power at sites not connected to the public electricity grid.
