Q Energy and Velto Celebrate La Tourette-Cabardes Solar Launch Success

• Q Energy and Velto Renewables switch on the 9-MWp La Gineste solar park in Aude, France, pairing clean power with local sheep grazing.

It has taken patience, persistence and a fair measure of grit, but the La Gineste solar farm is finally delivering electricity to the rugged hills of the Montagne Noire. European developer Q Energy and Spanish independent power producer Velto Renewables officially cut the ribbon on the 9-megawatt-peak (MWp) plant this week, ending a 14-year gestation that weathered shifting regulations, supply-chain turmoil and local appeals.

Spread across a former pasture that had lain fallow for decades, the array’s 15,200 bifacial panels will pump out about 12 GWh of clean power each year—enough for roughly 5,500 residents—while avoiding 2,850 tonnes of CO₂ annually. But the project is more than a tidy set of numbers. Developed hand-in-hand with the municipal council and a neighbouring farmer, La Gineste doubles as an agrivoltaic showcase: a flock of one hundred sheep now grazes under the modules, keeping vegetation in check and turning idle land into a revenue stream.

Mayor Jean-Claude Pech called the inauguration “proof that renewable energy and rural heritage can thrive together,” praising the developers for planting native hedgerows, installing wildlife corridors and funding a biodiversity-monitoring programme that will track pollinators over the next five years.

For Q Energy, La Gineste slots into a growing French solar pipeline that now tops 1 GW, while Velto’s 50 % stake marks its fifth operating asset in the country. “This site shows how long-term vision and trusted local partnerships can overcome bureaucratic headwinds,” said Laurent Duwiquet, Q Energy’s regional solar manager. Velto portfolio manager Lionel Daras added that the plant “sets a template for sustainable land use we intend to replicate across Occitanie.” 

Grid connection came only after Réseau de Transport d’Électricité completed a new feeder line, easing bottlenecks that had stalled several small-scale projects in Aude. With the switch thrown, the companies have already begun feasibility studies for a co-located battery system that would shift excess midday generation into the early-evening peak—a move in line with France’s push to triple solar capacity to 100 GW by 2030.

La Gineste’s long journey underscores a broader truth: the energy transition can be slow work, but when it finally arrives, the benefits ripple well beyond the perimeter fence—lighting homes, boosting farm income and cutting carbon in one elegant stroke.