The Matignicourt floating solar project, located in the Marne region of France, has entered the construction phase. Developed by Neoen, the project has a total capacity of 35 MWp, including 28 MWp of floating solar power plant installed on a former quarry lake that is no longer in operation.
To deliver the project, Neoen is working with an EPC consortium comprising Equans, as lead contractor, and Ciel & Terre for the floating solar plant. As part of the project, Ciel & Terre is responsible for the design of the floating solar plant and its anchoring system, as well as anchor installation, the assembly of floats and PV modules, and the installation of the floating islands on the lake.
The project is located in the same region as Les Îlots Blandin, a 72 MWp floating solar plant that is currently the largest floating solar project in Europe. It becomes part of a dynamic area for the development of large-scale PV plants on water bodies formerly part of industrial activities. The use of a former quarry lake makes it possible to use an existing water surface to generate renewable electricity, without creating a new land footprint
The project is part of Ciel & Terre’s development of large-scale floating solar, with particular attention to system reliability, site-specific adaptation and the integration of environmental constraints from the design stage. The Matignicourt plant was designed with the site’s specific environmental constraints integrated from the outset.
One of the main challenges was to maximise installed capacity while maintaining a defined distance between the reservoir’s banks and the floating islands. The positioning and dimensions of the islands were therefore optimised to find the right balance between the size of the plant and environmental requirements.
The anchoring system also required a site-specific design. The anchors must be installed along a defined level line on the reservoir floor, while maintaining sufficient elasticity in the mooring lines. This configuration allows the system to adapt to the geometry of the water body while ensuring the positioning and stability of the floating islands.
Construction is starting within a very tight timeframe. Anchoring works are already underway and must be completed before 31 October. Beyond this date, a particularly sensitive period begins for certain animal species present on the site, preventing the installation of the percussive anchors used for the project. Another distinctive feature of the project is that the plant will be spread across four separate reservoirs. This configuration requires a specific organisation of workflows, teams, and installation schedules.
