In the rolling country of eastern France, a modest trout farm has become an unlikely showcase for what photovoltaics can achieve beyond the well-trodden ground of rooftops and facades. At Pisciculture Beuque, a canopy of nearly 1,200 back-contact modules from LONGi stretches above the rearing basins, delivering roughly 500 kWp of installed capacity while doubling as a physical shield against the herons, cormorants and other fish-eating birds that have long preyed on the stock.
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The installation, delivered in partnership with French EPC POwR Connect, is built to cover a large share of the site's yearly demand of around 120,000 kWh. With storage planned for a later phase, the operator is aiming for near energy-positive operation, a prospect that would have seemed remote for a business of this scale only a few years ago.
The more urgent issue is predation. “Predation from birds is a major challenge for us, both economically and in terms of sanitary risks,” says Pascal Beuque, who runs the farm. The canopy interrupts the line of attack from above, cuts losses and reduces the disease transmission that follows wounded fish. The shading also moderates water temperature, easing thermal stress on the trout and producing more stable growing conditions, a quietly useful side effect as French summers grow warmer.
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The system is built around LONGi’s Hi-MO X10 series, whose back-contact architecture moves the electrical contacts to the rear of the cell, freeing the front for light capture and lifting efficiency in the partial-shade conditions typical of canopy structures. A 400 kVA combination of power optimisers and inverters completes the setup. Output feeds aeration, water circulation, cold storage and general site infrastructure, with any surplus going to the grid.
The environmental dividend extends quite literally downstream. By limiting solar gain on the basins, the canopy cools the water leaving the site and eases pressure on the receiving watercourse. For staff, the canopy means shelter from rain, snow and sun, and steadier working conditions across the year.
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Beuque is candid about his initial scepticism. “It initially seemed like an investment that would be difficult to justify, but when we looked at the long-term energy savings and the added operational security, it became a viable option.”
Aquaculture-PV remains a niche within a niche, but the trout farm shows where the sector may head next: applications where the panels serve two purposes, once on the meter and once again for the operation underneath. (TF)
