Valorem unveils PPA, land deal for European solar projects

French green energy operator Valorem has secured a power offtaker for an agrivoltaic project in France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and signed a land lease deal for a Finnish photovoltaic (PV) project.

The power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed with agri-food SMEs group Alliance Group, Valorem said on Thursday. The contract will see it deliver electricity to its client under a fixed price for 20 years.

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The power volumes will be sourced from a PV plant combining power generation and sheep grazing in the Vienne department of western France. Alliance Group has committed to buying the Vigeant plant’s entire output, which is estimated to be almost 12.4 GWh annually. The procurement will enable it to cover 15% of its total electricity needs with green power.

Valorem obtained authorisation for the agrivoltaic scheme in early 2024.

Meanwhile in Finland, Valorem has signed a land lease agreement with the Karkola municipality for a site that will become home to a 60-MW solar park. The PV arrays will be installed across 80 ha-95 ha of land at a former sewage treatment plant in Karkola, southern Finland. The municipality owns 29 ha of the overall area, with the rest is privately-owned land.

The French firm is holding talks with the private landowners and expects to secure all needed plots of land in 2024 and begin ground investigations. Planning and permitting are scheduled for 2025.

The proposed PV park will be able to generate over 40 GWh of electricity annually, or enough to supply 2,000 electrically heated detached houses, Valorem estimates.