The Cerdagne region,
a sunshine land

A pioneering region in solar power

On average, the Cerdagne region gets annual direct sunlight of 1,950 kWh/m², one of the highest values in all of France (i.e. almost 2,400 hours of sunshine per year). Located at an altitude of 1,600 m, the quality of the sun’s rays is an added asset.

The intensity of the direct sunlight in Cerdagne has enabled pioneer installations using concentrated solar power to be set up here:

1949: 1st solar furnace in the world, built by Félix Trombe in Mont-Louis,
1969: commissionning of Odeillo’s solar furnace, it is today used by the PROMES-CNRS (solar energy materials process) research laboratory teams
1983: opening of the Thémis power plant in Targassonne, for which CNIM manufactured the solar boiler, which became a solar energy Research and Development centre for the PROMES-CNRS.

ELLO works in cooperation with the PROMES – CNRS for optimising thermal energy storage using data provided by the Llo power plant.