GreenYellow and Carrefour Forge Landmark Solar Energy Partnership

In a groundbreaking move towards sustainable energy, GreenYellow and Carrefour have signed a 20-year contract to implement Europe’s largest decentralised solar project. The initiative involves the installation of photovoltaic canopies in the car parks of 90 hypermarkets and 260 Carrefour supermarkets in France, covering almost 180,000 parking spaces. The project will cover key regions including Normandy, Île-de-France, Hauts-de-France, Grand Est, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.

Strategic Alliance for Energy Transformation

GreenYellow, a renowned solar operator in the retail sector, will leverage its experience to offer comprehensive support from design to installation and operation of the solar plants. The company guarantees performance throughout the contract, ensuring efficient implementation across multiple locations for Carrefour. Using an external financing model, GreenYellow will cover the entire investment, enabling Carrefour to meet its decarbonisation goals. This transformation to an ‘as a service’ model will place Carrefour at the forefront of solarisation and decarbonisation, meeting regulatory requirements for car park solarisation and reducing dependence on electricity price fluctuations through self-sufficiency of the energy produced.

“We are extremely proud to be working with Carrefour, a leader in mass distribution in France and worldwide, on a long-term project of unprecedented scale,” said Otmane Hajji, CEO of GreenYellow. “This symbolic project reinforces our commitment to the transformation of large French and international companies towards energy independence and confirms our leadership in decentralized solar self-consumption.”

Project Schedule and Impact

The development phase will begin in July 2024, with the first installations expected to be operational by 2025. Half of the program is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026. Once completed, the project will generate 450 GWh of clean energy per year, equivalent to the electricity consumption of a city of 200,000 inhabitants.

“This program confirms the leading role that GreenYellow has played for years in promoting self-sufficiency in France,” said Mathieu Cambet, Deputy General Manager of Solar Photovoltaics at GreenYellow France. “We are now entering the operational phase, finalizing technical partnerships and creating a global ecosystem for deployment.”

Romain Butte, Managing Director of GreenYellow France, highlighted the benefits of the partnership: “We are delighted to be working with Carrefour. This solar initiative will significantly reduce their energy bills through self-consumption, supporting Carrefour’s goal of reaching 100% renewable energy by 2030. In addition, the photovoltaic canopies will improve the customer experience by providing protection from the elements. This large-scale implementation confirms our commitment to a greener and more sustainable future.”

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