French renewable energy producer CVE has installed the first RespeeR Flex solar power plant on an industrial site owned by safety equipment manufacturer MSA Group. The 187 kW installation will cover nearly 10% of the total energy consumption at the MSA facility, located in Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne, Ain, France.

The photovoltaic system is detachable as its photovoltaic modules are placed on the ground and ballasted on the ground. Assembly takes just 10 months, CVE said, compared to 24 months for a traditional installation.

"The solution ... greatly facilitated the validation phase within the MSA team," said Christophe Laurent, MSA Maintenance and Infrastructure Manager. "Our group insurance company approved it very quickly."

Enterprises with land reserves that cannot be used in the short term can use these small photovoltaic power plants to produce part of the electricity for a limited time. After this date, they can choose to extend the contract or stop it in order to use the land for other purposes.