29/2/2024
Efectis supported the ENGIE-NEOEN consortium in the development of the Horizeo photovoltaic park project of 1 GW in the municipality of Saucat (33) in Gironde, France.
This exceptional project, due to its dimensions (2000 hectares, including approximately 900 hectares of photovoltaic panels), is divided into two different types of areas:
- Photovoltaic areas which include photovoltaic panels and Molinia grass.
- Biodiversity preservation areas which can contain different types of vegetation. “Ecological corridors” connect these areas to ensure their continuity.
- The project required particular attention from a fire safety perspective, as it is located in the Landes de Gascogne Park, a forest area affected by serious fires in 2022.
- ENGIE-NEOEN commissioned Efectis to accompany them in studying the fire risk, including: Defining safety distances within the site to limit the risk of spread from one area to another.
- Not aggravating the hazard induced from the site to neighbouring forests, compared to the current site without photovoltaic panels (PV).
This study supplemented the Local Fire Department (SDIS 33) guidelines[1] on solar farms and Legal Obligations for Clearing, with the goal of complementing their requirements to facilitate the intervention of emergency services and limit damage to installations (as well as to local plants and animal species).
The necessary steps for the study’s completion are summarized in the following figure. Once the study was finalized, the site layout could be adjusted based on these distances, and the project was then presented to the authorities and at a public meeting.
[1] Ground-mounted photovoltaic project – Prescriptions and recommendations from the SDIS, Departmental Fire and Rescue Service of Gironde, March 2021.
For more information, please contact Mohamad El Houssami