The Banque des Territoires has signed an innovative and ambitious partnership agreement to develop and finance 350 MW of agrivoltaic projects by 2027, i.e. the annual consumption of 100,000 households. This is the first national partnership of the Banque des Territoires in the field of agrivoltaics*.
Ombrea as a developer of agrivoltaic projects aims at agricultural performance to support farmers in the face of transition issues. Its climate protection solutions aim to create an optimal microclimate for the development of plants, even in case of extreme weather conditions (drought, heat wave, frost, hail...).
The Aix-based startup is developing intelligent systems based on control algorithms that can be adapted to all types of crops (arboriculture, viticulture, horticulture, market gardening). The objective: to secure crops and produce solar energy. The climatic data collected on the plot allows to deploy a control adapted to the cultivation problems.
The innovative Ombrea solution is installed above the crops and regulates, by a system of opening and closing, the climatic parameters of the plant by dynamic shading. The electricity produced by the panels is sold to the grid, which ensures the payment of the installation. It is important to note that the added value of the technology resides essentially in the collection, processing of the data and the piloting of the shades.
The joint installation of photovoltaic panels on mobile modules allows both the financing of the installations and access to land coveted by solar developers.
This equity investment by Banque des Territoires will allow Ombrea, a medium-sized player, to remain independent and anchored in its territory, and to support the development of this new sector which is agrivoltaics.
In the short term, this will result in the acquisition and financing of the first 10 agrivoltaic demonstration projects, notably in the PACA region, covering different crops and climates. This will allow Ombrea to demonstrate the positive impact of its technology on different types of farms.
In the medium term, Ombrea aims to scale up to larger sites.
This commitment by Banque des Territoires, in favor of more sustainable and more connected territories, is in line with its Climate Plan and its desire to accelerate the energy and ecological transformation. Banque des Territoires currently holds a portfolio of direct holdings representing an installed capacity of 7.7 GW.
"Agrivoltaics meets a dual challenge: to participate in the development of renewable energy without reducing agricultural land and without artificialising the soil, while promoting the resilience of the agricultural world and the performance of farms in the face of climate change. Ombrea provides a concrete solution to these two issues, which are particularly critical in the PACA region," said Cédric Desmedt, deputy director of the Energy and Ecological Transition Department at Banque des Territoires, and Charles du Dresnay, deputy regional director for Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur at Banque des Territoires.
"This ambitious agreement is part of Ombrea's strategy to develop larger-scale agri-voltaic projects. Ombrea is committed to deploying its solutions on an ever more diversified range of crops, combining agricultural performance and renewable energy production" says Julie Davico-Pahin, co-founder and CEO of Ombrea.
"Faced with the challenges of energy transition and food sovereignty, providing tangible solutions to farmers is an essential challenge, for the adaptation of territories to the deleterious effects of climate change.
The partnership agreement was signed on November 16, 2022 in Aix-en-Provence by Christian Davico, President of Ombrea, Julie Davico-Pahin, General Manager of Ombrea, Charles du Dresnay, Deputy Regional Director Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur, and Cédric Desmedt, Deputy Director of the Department of Ecological and Energy Transition at the Banque des Territoires.
Agrivoltaics is a tiered system that combines photovoltaic electricity production with agricultural production below the same surface. The coexistence of solar panels and crops implies a sharing of light between these two types of production.
About La Banque des Territoires
About Banque des Territoires Created in 2018, Banque des Territoires is one of Caisse des Dépôts' five business lines. It brings together in a single structure the internal expertise for the territories. As a single customer gateway, it offers tailor-made advisory and financing solutions for loans and investments to meet the needs of local authorities, social housing bodies, local public companies and the legal professions.
It is aimed at all regions, from rural areas to metropolitan areas, with the aim of combating social inequalities and territorial divides. Banque des Territoires is deployed in the 16 regional divisions and 37 territorial offices of Caisse des Dépôts in order to be better identified with its clients and to be as close as possible to them.
