Contribute to the energy transition of your region!
A real development tool for the country, solar photovoltaic energy allows you to gather the community around a strong project that carries a sense of purpose and is virtuous on an ecological level. Capable of uniting a community, the LTECV (French energy transition law for green growth) offers the possibility of bringing together your fellow citizens by offering them the chance to invest in different projects.
These installations are also opportunities for revenue for the community through taxes (CFE local business tax, CVAE local adjusted value business tax, IFER business infrastructure tax, and property tax) and through the collection of rent and thus participates in the growth of your budget in a context of continual decreases in state funding.
INSTALL A GROUND-MOUNTED POWER PLANT
A pioneer in this sector, in particular with the construction of the 1st large capacity solar tracker plant in France in 2012 and the creation of the largest solar concentration plant in 2015, Urbasolar has built numerous installations whose vocation is to be as much technological showcases as to create the conditions for projects free of regulated tariffs.
Working on degraded sites (polluted, nationally classified polluted sites on the BASOL list, abandoned sites, former quarries, waste storage sites, slag heaps, airfield zones, etc.), the group works throughout all phases of the project from development and financing to construction, quality audits, and the various tests through to commissioning.
A true partner for local governments and real estate owners, Urbasolar accompanies you in the execution of your projects (public informational meetings, site visits, etc.) and gives particular attention to their environmental integration as well as their insertion. Our expertise has been developed over the years, allowing us to today be one of the leading winners of the CRE’s calls for offers, with a success rate of more than 90%.
DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION
Project development is a key step in the creation of your power plant.
This phase uses numerous skills (commercial, urban planning, legal, engineering, etc.) as well as close collaboration with the various parties involved (lessors, municipal councils, authorities, etc.) to ensure the commissioning of a photovoltaic generator.
Our teams are specialized and highly qualified to carry out all studies and procedures necessary for the execution of your project.
The Urbasolar group carries out the construction of all the projects that it develops.
As a general contractor and builder, ISO 9001, 14001, and AQPV certified, we manage all the works necessary for the successful creation of a photovoltaic power plant, from design studies to acceptance and the implementation of builder guarantees. With a Construction Quality Assurance Plan which details the goals and quality processes that must be respected for the construction of a photovoltaic power plant, from commissioning to acceptance, we are committed to delivering installations that meet the highest demands for quality, according to internationally recognized standards.
A multidisciplinary project team is dedicated to each installation.
QUALITY, SECURITY, ENVIRONMENT
Developer of technical and environmental quality issues, ISO 9001 and 14001 certified, Urbasolar is the 1st French group to have obtained AQPV certification (French photovoltaic quality alliance).
The group uses a construction quality assurance plan that details the goals and processes that must be respected for the construction of a photovoltaic power plant, from commissioning to acceptance of works.
Its environmental engagement is expressed through the implementation of an Environmental Resource Management System and its work in PV Cycle France, of which it is a founding member.
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CROWDFUNDING
To promote local investment, we offer town residents and citizens of regions around our photovoltaic plants, the opportunity to participate in these projects in a win-win process.
The gathering of funds from individual investors – organized through dedicated AMF accredited platforms – allows for individuals to participate in a solar project with a contribution within their means.
The process is then similar to any other type of financial placement; the invested sums are repaid each year with an attractive interest rate.
This type of investment has several advantages :
- A low risk placement (the purchase of the electricity produced by the plant is guaranteed by the French government for 20 years)
- Short-term placement
- Participation in the energy transition of one’s region
- Creation of a community bond between the citizens of the region
Adaptable, they can be tailored to the needs and desires of everyone, and present many benefits in terms of local, social, and environmental integration.
*AMF: French financial markets regulator
The French energy transition law for green growth (LTECV)
- Towns and groups of municipalities can participate in the capital of an incorporated company (SA) or a simplified joint-stock company (SAS) whose business is the production of renewable energy. Article 109 of the LTECV.
- Companies created to carry a renewable energy production project can propose shares to natural persons, in particular inhabitants whose place of residence is in close proximity to the project site, as well as local authorities and their councils in the region in which they are located. Article 111 of the LTECV.
ELECTED OFFICIALS SPEAK :
“ENGAGMENT IN A REGIONAL ENERGY POSITIVE POLICY”
Interview with Marie-Aline Edo, mayor since 2004 of La-Tour-Sur-Orb, a town of 1,500 inhabitants in the western part of the Hérault region, near Bédarieux.
Marie-Aline Edo, along with her town council, responded in favor of a proposal to create a renewable energy production site in her community: “Even the hunters and the hiking association were favorable to it. We only see advantages from this project. We receive rent and the local economic contribution (CET, contribution économique territoriale) and, with these complementary resources, we are able to invest without impacting the town’s taxes.” On an area of six hectares and located on a former bauxite quarry, the La Tour-sur-Orb photovoltaic power plant was commissioned in December of 2014. There is an active will within the town’s team to respond to public policies for the energy transition. The community has positioned itself within in the TEPCV (energy positive region for green growth) framework and has acquired two electric vehicles, thus reinforcing their engagement. “I would tell the mayors of France that they must begin using photovoltaic energy. There is a segment of land that should be reserved for this economic and ecological activity. We are fully invested in being an energy positive region.” At La Tour-sur-Orb, the door is wide open to clean energy and the engagement of elected officials is continuing with Urbasolar for a second photovoltaic project now in development.
“NEW SOURCES OF INCOME FOR A COMMUNITY”
Interview with Alain Delsol, mayor of Lavernose-Lacasse, town of 3,000 inhabitants along the Garonne River, south of Toulouse.
For his third term, Alain Delsol undertook, along with his municipal council, a project to develop former gravel quarries that had been exploited for thirty years. Property of the town, these spaces have today been converted into natural areas open to inhabitants, a hunting preserve, and now, in a reserved area, a renewable solar energy power production plant. “We have transformed the unstructured land into a fenced off site, monitored by camera, which produces electricity and works in favor of the environment, the town, and everyone. The installation of a ground-mounted solar power plant over nine hectares in located in an area where there are no homes, so nobody is inconvenienced.” Quite to the contrary, the mayor is pleased that the project was a success; an environmental and financial operation to the profit of the whole area (town, local municipalities, and the region). It took five years of work, slowed by the December 2010 moratorium, to go from the initial idea to installation. Alain Delsol also wants to plant trees and create a ten hectare wooded space on a former gravel quarry and continue this process of developing a rich landscape. “With Urbasolar, everything went well. I felt they were very engaged and we will be pursuing the next project together. We must prepare for the future. We are already an energy positive community with this plant, commissioned at the end of 2015, and we are now committed to a second production site across eight hectares. Addressing the elected officials of France, I would urge them to seize this type of opportunity. Taxes are collected without changing the tax rate and, if you are the owner of the land, you receive rental income as well. Wealth is created without having to ask every citizen for subsidies, donations, or to pay more taxes.” Now, Lavernose-Lacasse owns both its historically registered XIIth century Roman church and a renewable energy site, fruit of the latest technologies.
