Toulouse, October 8, 2020 – Thales Alenia Space, the joint company between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), announced today it has installed a complete set of solar carports at its Toulouse facility, which are now online and generating electricity. This first sustainable parking installation will be replicated at other company sites in Europe between now and 2021.

Thales Alenia Space chose EDF Group subsidiary EDF ENR to install its French-made solar carports at the Toulouse site. Now a feature of one of the main parking lots at the site, the carports have a combined surface area of 8,400 square meters (over 90,400 sq. ft) and will produce 1.8 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year, which will be used at the facility. This equates to 6% of the site’s total consumption. Thales Alenia Space’ Toulouse plant has thus inaugurated a new generation of sustainable parking lots, which will reduce its CO2 emissions by 25 metric tons a year. The carports offer space for 640 vehicles, which will be protected from rain and sun.

These solar carports are a sustainable and profitable investment for Thales Alenia Space. They were installed under a 10-year lease/purchase contract with EDF ENR for the canopies and the solar array, with a fee equivalent to the amount of electricity produced. Thales Alenia Space in Toulouse is now producing clean, carbon-free energy, which will all feed into the site. Ownership of the installation will transfer to the company in 2030. A second solar parking lot will be built in the next few months, taking green energy production to 10% of the site’s total consumption.

Denis Allard, General Manager of the Thales Alenia Space plant in Toulouse: “Construction of this solar parking lot is a pilot project for Thales Alenia Space and will be replicated at several of our Europe sites between now and 2021. It’s a prime example of our commitment to protecting the environment and reducing our carbon footprint. These sustainable carparks will help achieve Thales’s goal of lowering its direct greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030.¹"

Benjamin Declas, CEO of EDF ENR: “We’re delighted to be helping Thales Alenia Space with its broader objective to better manage its electricity usage and contribute to the energy transition. These solar carports will provide power for the site while ensuring a better parking experience for staff and visitors.”

Commissioning these carports at the Toulouse site is a pioneering project for Thales Alenia Space. Similar initiatives are in progress at some of the company’s other Europe facilities, including Cannes, where 5,400 square meters (over 58,000 sq. ft) of solar panels are being installed. They will produce 1.3 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year, equivalent to 4% of the site’s total consumption. By 2021, five Thales Alenia Space facilities in Europe will have solar parking lots: Toulouse and Cannes in France, Charleroi in Belgium and L’Aquila and Turin in Italy. Together, these new-generation parking facilities will generate 6.58 gigawatt-hours a year, reducing the company’s CO2 emissions by 1,031 metric tons.

¹ The base year for this goal is 2018.

Photo: ©Thales Alenia Space/J-P Grèzes.

ABOUT THALES ALENIA SPACE
Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space delivers cost-effective solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design satellite-based systems that provide anytime, anywhere connections and positioning, monitor our planet, enhance management of its resources, and explore our Solar System and beyond. Thales Alenia Space sees space as a new horizon, helping to build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies’ Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately 2.15 billion euros in 2019 and has around 7,700 employees in nine countries. www.thalesaleniaspace.com

THALES ALENIA SPACE – PRESS CONTACTS

Sandrine Bielecki
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