Solar farms to power greener train journeys in France
Power Engineering International
Posted on: 13 October 2025
SNCF Energie, Octopus Energy’s generation arm, and BayWa r.e. have announced the signing of two major corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs) with the French national railway company SNCF Voyageurs.
The 25-year agreement will see SNCF Energie supply green electricity to SNCF Voyageurs to help decarbonise its travel solutions.
The power will be supplied from the Greenberry and Fontenet 3 solar farms, which were developed and constructed by renewable energy company BayWa r.e. and acquired through Octopus’ Sky fund (ORI SCSp).
The farms will deliver over 100GWh of green electricity each year and 2.5TWh over the 25-year period. This will be enough to power 15,500 TGV trips from Paris to Rennes each year, states BayWa r.e.
Have you read?
British Co-op Group inks wind PPA to green operations
Brookfield and Google ink first-of-its-kind hydropower deal
In an effort to decarbonise, SNCF Voyageurs has expanded its corporate PPA programme, aiming to source 20% of its electricity through such PPAs.
Richard Fécamp, managing director of SNCF Energie commented: “This is a huge leap forward for SNCF’s ambition to decarbonise and expand rail transport. As one of France’s largest energy consumers, we aim to source between 40% and 50% of the electricity consumed by our trains from renewables by 2030, including 20% from PPAs. The Fontenet 3 and Greenberry PPAs represent significant progress in our commitment to clean energy transformation.”
Dr Daniel Gaefke, COO at BayWa r.e. said: “Completing the negotiation of these two PPAs in just three months – from kick-off to signature – underscores what a perfect match this collaboration is and our commitment to delivering large-scale renewable solutions at pace.”
Alex Brierly, Co-head of Octopus Energy Generation added: “Travelling by train is already one of the cleanest ways to get around, and we’re proud to help put SNCF’s trains on an even greener track. We’ve already invested in over 30 solar and wind projects across France, and we’ll continue to steam ahead to power the country’s green energy future.”
This news is announced as Octopus is expanding its footprint in France, now managing over 500MW of solar and wind projects and supplying energy to more than 600,000 homes through its retail business.
