In partnership with the Vaucluse Chamber of Agriculture, Urbasolar organized a visit to two of the ten solar greenhouses that the group has built in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA).
Attended by the Presidents, elected representatives and employees of the PACA Regional Chamber of Agriculture and Vaucluse Chamber of Agriculture, as well as various partners (including GDA, CETA, APREL, INRAE, Mycophyto, CTIFL and DDT84) and farm operators, the day presented an opportunity to share feedback and talk directly to farmers.
The visit, which took place on Thursday, May 20, began in Châteaurenard, on a farm growing lamb’s lettuce in a 0.9 MWp solar greenhouse with panels mounted on hinged frames fitted with a tracking system. This was followed by a visit to a farm in Berre l’Etang that primarily produces strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, powered by a 2.8 MWp latest-generation photovoltaic greenhouse featuring innovative technology that maximizes available light.
Proven technical expertise
As a key photovoltaic solar player and agricultural partner, Urbasolar believes that renewable photovoltaic energy production can be integrated into high-performance agricultural production facilities. The group develops and manages a range of solar greenhouse solutions meeting the highest quality requirements, particularly from an agricultural standpoint, and incorporates an ongoing innovation policy to optimize electricity generation in these photovoltaic plants.
Thanks to its expertise, it offers growers high-performance solutions adapted to their growth targets in line with technological (scope of the project based on the farm size and choice of materials and technologies) and agricultural (planting the most suitable species) criteria.
“This solar-powered greenhouse offers us the kind of air, height and light inside our production facility that we’ve never seen before! ”
Stephanie Facon-Retaux, a grower in Berre l’Etang.
Driven by a will to develop and sustain farms, Urbasolar has become a leader in the agricultural sector thanks to an approach based on a considerable ability to adapt to farm operators’ issues.
An agricultural facility ready for the Energy Transition
For the group, each project is, above all, an agricultural project. Urbasolar helps farm operators build their facilities and works with research and development organizations to monitor production and continuously improve the greenhouse’s performance. Urbasolar is committed to establishing a close collaboration with growers and different partners to develop agriculture and promote energy transition.
“My partnership with Urbasolar is based on a relationship of trust and the desire to incorporate solar greenhouse technology into my agricultural work in the best way possible and continues with a constant focus on improving the production facility.”
Cédric Fargier, a grower in Châteaurenard
This feedback from both growers demonstrates the dual functionality offered by photovoltaic greenhouses as an efficient agricultural production facility and a sustainable development tool producing renewable energy.
Urbasolar solar greenhouses– Berre l’Etang (13) | Urbasolar solar greenhouses– Châteaurenard (13) | Photo Credit: Urbasolar