Q Energy has started building the “Les Ilots Blandin” floating solar plant in Haute-Marne, France. The renewable energy producer said that it will be the largest floating PV project in Europe upon completion.

It was originally supposed to have a capacity of 66 MW, but Q Energy said it was later able to expand this to 74.3 MW, thanks to the design of the floats.

The construction process is expected to last approximately 18 months, with commissioning scheduled for the first quarter of 2025. A consortium of companies made up of Solutions 30 Sud-Ouest, Ciel et Terre International, and Perpetum Energy will build and operate the plant.

Q Energy secured the project in a tender by CRE, the French energy regulator, in August 2022. It will be built on an artificial lake at a former gravel pit owned by the Etablissements Blandin.

Q Energy will deploy 134,649 modules across six islands anchored on the banks or at the bottom of the flooded pits. The company said that the floating structures are manufactured in France an the materials used are designed to minimize the impact on the environment.

Since 2018, Q Energy France, headquartered in Avignon, has been developing floating solar projects in areas where former quarries existed. It currently has a floating PV development pipeline of more than 300 MW.