Below is an sutomatic translation of part of the story.
In Sarthe, a farm is hosting a pilot installation of new-generation solar water heaters. The in situ results are of interest to a multi-sector development project.
As old as the world, the sun provides the certain guarantee of always shining tomorrow. Yet its valuations seem far from having revealed all their dimensions. And the bubbling photovoltaic sectors do not have a monopoly on innovation. Indeed, without even going so far as to trade in transportable energy, on farms, solar energy offers opportunities. For example, some breeders use it to improve the efficiency, at a lower cost, of their fodder dryer. In Sarthe, there is even a beef calf farm that is interested in solar thermal technology.
From market gardening to ruminants
The 400 calves in this farm have a total daily need of 4,400l of hot water. Since the middle of last year, the farm has been operating a 40kW installation. Thanks to this alignment of panels, Frédéric Vaucelle, the breeder, aspires to significantly reduce his propane bills. So far, gas has cost his company around €5,500/year”, before the latest surges in energy prices.
As part of a European inter-regional project for the deployment of a new thermal solar panel technology, the Sarthe farm is testing the system also installed in other countries for other productions. “These panels are two and a half to three times more efficient than previous generation technologies. They even work in cloudy climates such as that of northwestern Europe,” explains Gilles Beaujean, energy advisor to the Chambers of Agriculture in Pays de la Loire.
During the Champ d'Innovations forum organized in Normandy, he presented a quantified objective for the average reduction of gas consumption on the French pilot site: 70%. At the farm level, “we are aiming for a reduction in gas consumption of 5t/year and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 15t/year.”
