Our projects

Châteauneuf-Le-Rouge, France

Site presentation

As part of its energy transition, this local authority wished to generate its own energy in order to reduce its dependence on the price of electricity from the power grid and thus save money. In this remarkable Provençal village, the nearby historic buildings make it impossible to deploy a photovoltaic project with conventional modules installed on the roof and to obtain approval from the Architectes des Bâtiments de France (the French state architects authority). In addition, the investment required to beautify and develop the town centre called for an unobtrusive, visually integrated project that would be acceptable to local residents.

It was therefore natural for the local authority to install a Wattway photovoltaic power station on a forecourt in the town centre to generate its own energy for lighting purposes at certain heritage sites and for the town hall itself to use.

How the
system works

With an installed capacity of 21 kWp, the 216 m² Wattway photovoltaic power plant is made up of photovoltaic modules for traffic-bearing surfaces, installed on the forecourt of a church. The modules are fixed to the ground. They can carry pedestrian or vehicle traffic and generate solar energy that is converted into electricity and fed directly into the town hall’s low-voltage switchboard for its own needs.

Why did the local authority
choose Wattway?

The decisive factors in the local authority’s choice of Wattway technology were the possibility of generating more renewable energy for its own use, making more use of the forecourt location without altering its historic heritage, and integrating it in a way that fits in with its environment and the wishes of its residents.