Europe's biggest photovoltaic solar power plant opened on Tuesday (1 December) near Bordeaux on the second day of the COP21 climate conference hosted by France. With the project's inauguration, France has made up some lost ground after being a relative latecomer to the solar phenomenon compared to its neighbours in Europe.

France's solar power capacity was estimated at a mere 5,095MW in June, prior to the project, compared with nearly 37,000MW in Germany. The new €360m (£253m, $381m), 300-MW, ground-mounted installation plant is capable of supplying the annual electricity needs of Bordeaux. Power from the development, which uses nearly 1m solar cells, will be sold at €105 per megawatt-hour over the next 20 years.

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