Total opens New Caledonia’s largest solar power plant with battery storage

French oil and gas major Total has this week inaugurated the Hélio Boulouparis 2 solar project in New Caledonia, the largest solar power plant in any French overseas territory.

The Hélio Boulouparis 2 project consists of over 58,000 solar panels with a cumulative peak capacity of 16 MW – enough to cover the energy needs of over 21,000 residents of New Caledonia.

The plant will also feature a lithium-ion battery storage system with a capacity of nearly 10MW (The hours of storage were not released)..

“With nearly 60% of the total photovoltaic capacity installed in New Caledonia, Total Quadran is positioned as the first player in the New Caledonian solar market,” said Thierry Muller, General Manager of Total Quadran, Total’s French renewables subsidiary.

“As a historical player in the territory, Total is proud to be able to contribute to a less carbon-intensive energy mix of the region, while promoting the integration of renewables into the electricity grid through appropriate storage facilities.”

Total Quadran – which develops, builds, and operates renewable facilities in France and its overseas territories – now boasts over 300 renewable power projects with a cumulative capacity of nearly 900 MW, generating 1,675 GWh of renewable electricity each year.

Total Quadran now manages 7 solar power plants in New Caledonia with a cumulative capacity of 50MW. This latest New Caledonia solar project is the second Boulouparis project, joining a 11 MW project commissioned in 2017.