One City’s Race To ‘Solarize Everything We Possibly Can’

One City’s Race To ‘Solarize Everything We Possibly Can’

One City’s Race To ‘Solarize Everything We Possibly Can’ Bordeaux’s submarine base was once a place of battle. Built by the Germans during the Second World War, the hulking concrete edifice in the north of the wine-loving French city was used to launch attacks against the Allied Forces. Today, however, the site is fighting a different kind of fight — the war on fossil fuels. Its ammunition is 6,600 photovoltaic panels, which are being transported from the ground somewhat spectacularly by helicopter, reducing emissions five-fold compared to using cranes, according to city authorities. The outcome: A 13,000 square meter solar power plant, set to produce 3.4 megawatts of energy, which when completed in March 2026 will be the largest urban rooftop solar site in France. “We have to solarize everything we possibly can,” says Claudine Bichet, the deputy mayor responsible for climate change and the energy transition at Bordeaux City Hall. “We believe in this approach and we are advancing very qu…