SNCF Énergie and Valorem, pioneers of renewable energy in France, announced Friday the signing of their first direct green electricity supply contract, reportedly the largest wind-origin contract in France.
Under this 25-year contract, Valorem will supply 93 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity per year to SNCF Énergie (a subsidiary of SNCF Voyageurs), facilitated by the construction of a wind farm in Cheniers (Marne), scheduled to commence operations in the fall.
This site, consisting of eight turbines with a total capacity of 36 megawatts (MW), will be the largest wind farm in France to be subject to a direct power purchase agreement. Its production will cover the equivalent of the Paris-Rennes TGV line’s needs.
SNCF, the country’s largest industrial electricity consumer, has been a pioneer in France since 2018 in these types of direct, long-term contracts. Known as Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), they are proliferating and provide signatories with visibility on their activities, protecting them from electricity price volatility in wholesale markets.
For SNCF Voyageurs, it’s also “a guarantee of supplying decarbonized electricity and evidence of its environmental commitment,” commented Richard Fécamp, CEO of SNCF Énergie, who also cited the “increasing environmental expectations expressed by regions, transport organizing authorities.”
SNCF transports 11% of the country’s passengers and goods for less than 1% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector, the group emphasizes. SNCF Voyageurs, in particular, has announced its intention to achieve 40 to 50% renewable electricity for train traction by 2026, including 20% from PPAs (about twenty contracts of this type).
For Valorem, Cheniers is “an exemplary project.” An extension of a park operated by the group since 2016, it was authorized in 2021 and has not been the subject of appeals, “a sign of the quality of its development and local acceptance,” highlights the Bordeaux-based company.
The signing of this contract also came at the right time to better capitalize on the project, in a context of rising construction costs and lower profitability, explains Bertrand Guidez, Deputy General Manager of Valorem.
The renewable energy sector “needs this type of contract to support project realization,” he adds, emphasizing “the complementarity” especially with government tenders. Valorem, signing its 5th PPA, aims to reach nine by the end of the year.
Overall, PPAs in France have more often concerned photovoltaic parks until now. But this is changing, notes Richard Fécamp, of SNCF Énergie, who finds the “production profile of wind energy” more advantageous, as it “produces consistently.”