Carrefour has announced a partnership with solar energy provider GreenYellow, which will see the installation and operation of photovoltaic systems in close to 350 hypermarket and supermarket car parks in France.

The rollout forms part of the Carrefour 2026 plan to enhance the value of the retailer's real estate assets, with the target of achieving 1 TWh per year in photovoltaic energy production in France, Spain and Brazil from 2027.

'A Major Step'

"This partnership is a major step in our Carrefour 2026 plan, which makes the fight against climate change one of its main strategic objectives," commented Alexandre Bompard, chairman and chief executive of Carrefour.

"We are thus accelerating the very large-scale deployment of photovoltaic power plants in our stores in order to achieve our objective of electricity consumption based 100% on renewable energies by 2030. GreenYellow's expertise will enable us to succeed in this major impact project, which is as virtuous for the ecological transition as it is for the valuation of our real estate assets."

Renewable Energy Targets

The partnership will result in a 'significant reduction' in Carrefour's energy bills, the retailer added, as well as making a notable contribution to its target of achieving 100% renewable energy in the group's total electricity consumption by 2030.

It will see canopies placed above supermarket car parks, equipped with solar panels, which will be financed by GreenYellow.

Within three years, electricity production of approximately 450 GWh per year is expected, approximately the consumption of a city of 200,000 inhabitants.

Surplus energy produced will be provided to the local domestic market, thus resulting in additional revenue opportunities.