It would be a “first on the Atlantic coast”. This weekend, a new device was officially inaugurated at the port of La Baule-Le Pouliguen (Loire-Atlantique): a solar pontoon, capable of directly powering moored boats. Since the start of its commissioning in July, 130 kWh have been produced, the equivalent of 200 sailing days for a sailboat. An innovation that “promotes local self-consumption by giving a second functionality to circulation spaces”, welcomes the mayor of La Baule (LR), Franck Louvrier.
Because here, there is no need to find a roof on which to put the panels. The dozen photovoltaic tiles (108×83 cm) have been fixed to the floating dock, and it is quite possible to walk on them, as before. Another asset, they are thus protected “from theft or violent winds”, explains the company Wattway.
The surplus injected into the port’s private network
Two terminals, each with four electrical outlets, allow boaters who wish to come and plug in. An information totem displays electricity production in real time, estimated at 1,075 kWh per year. And if there is a surplus, like this summer, the electricity is fed back into the port’s private network.
The town hall of La Baule indicates that it is thinking about generalizing the system throughout the port (800 boats), and why not to other public places (sidewalks, playgrounds for children, etc.) The experiment required a budget of 95,000 euros.