By Jean-Philippe Pié – 21 July 2021
RGreen Invest has become the financial partner of Solgés Energy, a solar power developer based in Valence and led by Armen Sedefian, the majority shareholder and former head of development at Cap Sud. He founded Solgés in 2017 with three partners and this year persuaded the investor, which specialises in renewable energy, to provide €2 million. The funding package includes RGreen taking a 10% stake in the developer’s share capital and the provision of equity capital for the projects.
Solgés is a former photovoltaic engineering consultancy that has expanded into land acquisition and infrastructure construction, with a focus on developing degraded and polluted land for photovoltaic use: «We entered into key agreements in 2020 with several companies specialising in decontamination. These agreements enable us, in particular, to address issues relating to the thirty-year liability of the industrial firms from whom we purchase the land,» says Armen Sedefian. The director does not wish to disclose the names of his partners, which are companies specialising in soil remediation and may also be, for example, subcontractors to Veolia or Suez.
Managing the risks associated with contaminated land
What is Solgés Energy’s competitive advantage over major solar developers? Some, such as Urbasolar, specialise in developing solar projects on derelict sites, which are favoured in government tenders. Here too, Armen Sedefian prefers to remain tight-lipped about his company’s strengths, whilst noting that ‘decontamination is expensive. This can slow down the redevelopment of a site. Our strategy will make the difference, as we have the right partnerships«.
To put his business into context, he cites TotalEnergies, one of the few players in the solar sector to have long since in-house the expertise required to manage sites contaminated by its hydrocarbon storage and handling activities: «To give just one example, Solgés will not be taking on sites from TotalEnergies, as it already knows how to do what we are offering.»
Competition with the property sector
In fact, installing photovoltaic systems at sites that are often classified as Seveso sites is a delicate undertaking. Each case is unique and must comply with the requirements set by the DREAL* regulatory authorities. Land that is severely contaminated is often only partially decontaminated and then sealed off under several layers of tarpaulin, after which solar panels are installed, secured by ballast rather than piles, explains Armen Sedefian.
These problematic areas may also represent only a fraction of a larger site – for example, 5 hectares out of 30 – where it is then possible to install a high-potential solar infrastructure. However, depending on the nature of the sites, solar developers frequently face stiff competition from powerful rivals such as property developers. Solgés Energy is targeting solar projects averaging 25 MW, potentially combined with batteries or electrolysers. The company reports a project pipeline of 100 MW and several dozen major projects currently under discussion. A target of 300 MW in operation or ready for construction has been set for 2025. The first power stations are scheduled to come online in 2023.
*Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing.