Carrefour to go solar in France under 350-MW deal with GreenYellow

French renewable energy company GreenYellow will install over 350 MW of photovoltaic (PV) panels across the domestic network of France-based food retailer Carrefour (EPA:CA) by 2027.

The companies have signed a 20-year contract that will enable Carrefour to solarise the parking lots of 350 hypermarkets and supermarkets and use the electricity for its own needs. According to a statement on Monday, the project is the largest decentralised solar power initiative in Europe.

The PV shading systems will be mounted on the parking lots of 90 Carrefour hypermarkets and 260 supermarkets in the regions of Normandy, Ile-deFrance, Hauts-de-France, Grand Est, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, and Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur. Almost 180,000 parking spaces will be equipped with PV panels and will produce close to 450 GWh of electricity annually, covering around 20% of the stores’ power needs.

The scheme’s development phase is due to be launched this month and its implementation will begin as early as next year. Half of the programme will wrap up by the end of 2026.

The self-consumption initiative will be realised under GreenYellow’s third-party financing model. It is seen to help Carrefour lower the impact of power price fluctuations and support its goal of reaching 100% renewable energy by 2030. The plan will also back the retailer’s goal for 1 TWh of solar generation in France, Spain and Brazil per year from 2027.

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