PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The LIFE FilSun project- Demonstration at pre-commercial level of an innovative cable-suspended bifacial PV system on artificial water bodies, deployable on unexploited lands and industrial sites - coordinated by EDF with the support of expert technology providers (Mécamont and Photowatt), aims to demonstrate for the 1st time at pre-commercial level the technical and economic feasibility of an innovative cable-suspended vertical photovoltaic technology, deployed on the banks of the canal of a hydroelectric plant in Carbonne, France. Through the design, development, installation and operation of the solution over a 15-month period, the 1MW demonstrator will enable to bring the technology to TRL8 and provide evidence-based data on its technical performances and design enabling to value unexploited lands and sites such as canals, basins, reservoirs, brownfields through a multi-purpose land approach. The project builds on the premise that the photovoltaic growth and deployment are increasingly facing constraints related to land accessibility and land competition, while hundreds of thousands of hectares of lands that could be equipped with photovoltaic remain unexploited. The LIFE FilSun project will demonstrate the ability of the cable-suspended bifacial PV technology to provide a cost-efficient technological answer to land scarcity issues, to contribute to increased generation and use of renewable electricity in the EU (>1GWh/year of renewable electricity produced) and to reduce CO2 emissions. The quick learning curve of the technology, its decreasing costs, its tremendous replication potential of the technology in Europe, together with the implementation of ambitious short-term replication, will speed up market uptake, raise the interest of industrial customers, and foster the industrialization of the cable-suspended PV value chain in Europe.