SolarinBlue Obtains €6 Million Public Funding For French Offshore Wind Project

SolarinBlue Obtains €6 Million Public Funding For French Offshore Wind Project

SolarinBlue’s offshore solar success story continues in the Mediterranean Sea. SolarinBlue, a French deeptech start-up, develops a floating photovoltaic solar solution specially designed for the maritime environment. SolarinBlue and its partners have secured major public support for their new pre-commercial demonstrator Méga Sète. Funding of 6 million euros has been granted by the French Government as part of the France 2030 program, operated by ADEME, the French Agency for Ecological Transition. Méga Sète aims to develop and deploy a 1 MegaWatt-peak (MWp) offshore solar farm to supply the port of Sète-Frontignan with low-carbon electricity.

Méga Sète builds on the technological advances and expertise accumulated through its first demonstrator, Sun’Sète (inaugurated in 2023), which will be replaced by Méga Sète. Méga Sète will be located in the Sète-Frontignan commercial port district, 2 km from the coast, on
the site of the former offshore oil unloading station.

With commissioning scheduled for the end of 2025, Méga Sète will be the first 1 MWp offshore solar farm in France and in the Mediterranean Sea. Aurélien CROQ, Chief Executive Officer of SolarinBlue, states: Méga Sète will be certified for waves of more than 10 meters, our technology is ready to be used in ports, and island territories and integrated into offshore wind farms. Antoine RETAILLEAU, co-founder SolarinBlue, stated, SolarinBlue has brought together leading industrial and academic players at Méga Sète to set the first milestone in the industrialization of our technology.

France’s first photovoltaic port The Méga Sète project will cover an area of one hectare. Annual production is estimated at over 1,300
MWh. The electricity will be transported by a submarine cable to supply renewable energy to the infrastructures of the port of Sète-Frontignan, as part of its strategy to decarbonize its energy consumption.

A consortium supported by the Occitanie Region, bringing together leading companies and universities. Based on SolarinBlue’s technology, the project will benefit from the offshore expertise of Technip Energies, the scientific support of the University of Montpellier in offshore systems electronics, and Sorbonne Université – Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-Sur-Mer for the study of environmental impacts.

The Occitanie Region actively supports the project and facilitated SolarinBlue’s association with the University of Montpellier and Sorbonne Université – Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-Sur-Mer. Offshore solar market outlook SolarinBlue plans to rapidly develop new offshore solar projects to help decarbonize port facilities and island territories.

SolarinBlue’s technology also brings synergies with offshore wind farms, whether fixed or floating. Offshore wind farms and offshore solar farms can share the same connection, reducing investment in infrastructure and increasing renewable electricity production on the same offshore site. SolarinBlue aims to create offshore wind-solar hybrid farms. The aim is to launch Europe’s first 1 gigawatt project by 2030.