Akuo, and Enercal Energies Nouvelles, the 100% subsidiary of New Caledonia’s electricity grid management company Enercal devoted to renewable energy, today inaugurated the Focola solar plant in New Caledonia.
Three partners for an innovative project
The Focola project was set up on the initiative of a local farmer, Jean-Christophe Niautou, who wanted to collaborate with Akuo because of its globally recognized expertise in agrivoltaic solutions on cyclone-prone islands. For the solar PV project, Akuo thus approached the Enercal group, the territory’s leading renewable energy producer. Together, they created Focola SAS, the entity in charge of this project.
An unprecedented project in the Pacific
The first Agrinergie® greenhouses deployed in the Pacific, an innovative system combining market gardening and solar PV electricity production. Sixteen cyclone-proof photovoltaic greenhouses occupy a total surface area of 22,000 m2 of land. The farm produces 2 GWh of electricity a year, the equivalent of the electricity consumption of 600 homes, and some 200 metric tons of vegetables. Beyond the technical achievement itself, this project contributes to 2 major societal ambitions: this territory’s food self-sufficiency and its electrical autonomy.
The cyclone-proof aspect of these greenhouses offers clear advantages in securing agricultural production in this region that suffers two cyclones a year on average. Very committed to responsible agriculture, this farmer thus wants to explore permaculture processes. This new activity will enable him to create several new jobs. Furthermore, this project is contributing to New Caledonia’s energy independence, as the territory is very determined to make the transition to green energy given these islands’ fragile ecosystems and extremely rich biodiversity that are important to protect.
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