As part of a new Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA), SNCF Energie will acquire the entire production from the 37.4-megawatt wind farm located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. This wind farm, named Rives Charentaises, consists of 17 wind turbines with an individual capacity of 2.2 megawatts.
The annual production is estimated to be around 78 gigawatt-hours, accounting for 1.4% of SNCF Voyageurs’ traction electricity consumption. The commissioning of the wind farm is scheduled for the first half of 2024.
This new commitment aligns perfectly with SNCF Voyageurs’ intention to actively participate in the energy transition. In this context, SNCF Voyageurs confirms its ambition to achieve 40-50% renewable energy sources – including 20% from Corporate PPAs – in its electricity consumption mix for train traction by 2026.
To achieve this goal, its subsidiary SNCF Energie has been leading the “Corporate PPA” program for SNCF Voyageurs since 2018. With these new contracts, by 2027, more than 560 gigawatt-hours per year will come from additional photovoltaic and wind power plants. SNCF Voyageurs aims to have 1,100 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity from CPPAs by 2027-2028, representing 20% of its electrical needs for train traction.
This is not the first collaboration between SNCF Energie and Voltalia. In June 2019, the two companies signed their first large-scale renewable electricity direct purchase agreement, covering a capacity of 143 megawatts for a duration of 25 years.
Voltalia committed to developing, constructing, and operating three solar power plants located in Gard and Var, France. It was the first agreement of this scale signed between a renewable energy producer and an independent major consumer in France.
Sébastien Clerc, CEO of Voltalia, said, “The signing of this new CPPA reflects the determination of SNCF Voyageurs and Voltalia to pursue an ambitious and proactive common policy regarding the consumption and production of responsible energy. Voltalia is thus assisting its partners in meeting their decarbonization and low-carbon impact commitments.”
Richard Fécamp, CEO of SNCF Energie, added, “This wind CPPA brings real diversification to SNCF Voyageurs’ renewable electricity sourcing program. Its negotiation relied on the shared experience of the SNCF Energie and Voltalia teams developed during previous contracts. The decarbonization is significant, with a carbon content of 14 grams of CO2eq per kilowatt-hour, and the wind production profile complements the profile of the photovoltaic power plants.”