Six thousand photovoltaic streetlights will be deployed by 2026 in the Agen conurbation to supply the largest solar-powered public lighting system in Europe, according to an agreement signed by the community and its partners.
11 million euros to replace 7,000 streetlights
The project is formalized this Wednesday, November 23 at the Salon des Maires in Paris, with the company Fonroche Lighting and the Union of Public Purchasing Groups (Ugap). The urban agglomeration of Agen, which has 19,000 light points, will invest 11 million euros to replace 7,000 obsolete streetlights with 6,000 solar streetlights.
“Agen is the first agglomeration to switch to photovoltaics so massively”, rejoices Jean Dionis du Séjour, president of the community that brings together more than 100,000 inhabitants in 44 municipalities. “Investment is strong but profitability is fast. We hope to save between 600,000 and 750,000 euros a year”, added the elected.
The supplier of the new streetlights, Fonroche Lighting, is based in Roquefort, on the inland outskirts of Agen. A world leader in solar street lighting, the company employs around 200 people worldwide, including 130 locally.
Its turnover is estimated at 100 million euros for 2023, compared to 60 million in 2022, a sign of strong expansion. It recently won contracts with Senegal to equip the country with tens of thousands of autonomous photovoltaic streetlights, which also illuminate highways in Kuwait, a residential area in Quebec or ski slopes in Switzerland.
40 to 60% of the electricity bill for public lighting
For the general director of Fonroche Alumbrado, Laurent Lubrano, solar energy is a solution for the future for communities that spend “40 to 60%” of their electricity bill on public lighting, in a context of extremely high prices.
“For communities today, the choice is: ‘Either pay a lot of money or turn off or dim the lights.’ There is a third solution: invest in solar lighting. The sun is free”, says the leader.
The price of a solar streetlight is between 20 and 30% more expensive than a classic one “but there is no additional cost, no energy charge, no ditch, no cable, no electrical network or maintenance of the electrical network, which is very expensive. the return on investment is immediate. There is no maintenance for 10 years.”
And so that “you don’t need a lot of sun”: “We have equipped, for example, a motorway interchange in Calais with 120 lampposts that work every day of the year,” stresses the director of Fonroche.
Source: BFM TV
