Bouygues Immobilier inaugurates the Orange les Vignes retail park, incorporating Europe's largest photovoltaic power plant developed by Aérowatt - 12 May 2010

On 11 May 2010, Eric Mazoyer, Deputy CEO of Bouygues Immobilier, inaugurated the Orange les Vignes retail park to the south of Orange, in the presence of François Bertière, Chairman and CEO of Bouygues Immobilier, and Jacques Bompard, mayor of Orange and a member of the Vaucluse council.

Located on a 10-hectare (27-acre) site in the Porte Sud urban development zone, the 31,360-sq-metre retail park is directly accessible from the A7 motorway. Marketed by Camae, it hosts more than 50 leading retailers including Jardiland, Intermarché, C&A, Kiabi, Casa, Mac Dan and Maxitoys. A significant addition to the region's shopping facilities, it serves not only the residents of Orange but also a wider catchment area of over 100,000 people.

The retail park is a great economic opportunity for the Upper Vaucluse, creating 250 jobs. To support and promote local employment, Bouygues Immobilier, the municipality of Orange, the Vaucluse Chamber of Commerce and the local Pôle Emploi employment agency have teamed up to help the park's retailers with their recruitment.

The Orange les Vignes retail park also demonstrates Bouygues Immobilier's commitment to high-quality architecture and sustainable development.

On a site where the city merges with the vineyards, the architecture, inspired by the outlines of local wineries, engages in a dialogue with the surrounding landscape. Designed by Outsign Architecture, the Orange les Vignes retail park is distinguished from traditional shopping centres by its architecture on a human scale, blending harmoniously into the environment. Giving shoppers plenty of space to move around, the buildings are disposed around a square, their roofs diverting the eye with an interplay of lines and planes. The central space, bisected by a pedestrian walkway, is divided into four parking lots. Surrounded by vines, the complex offers magnificent views of Mont Ventoux and the Dentelles de Montmirail.

A model of sustainable development in practice, the Orange les Vignes retail park has a photovoltaic roof with a capacity of 2,163 kWc, making it Europe's biggest photovoltaic power plant incorporated into a public building. The power plant has been developed by Aérowatt and is owned by Aérowatt Energies, a company controlled by Aérowatt (65%) with Caisse des Dépôts (35%).

In all, 12,000 Schüco photovoltaic panels (the first integration system to obtain technical approval from CSTB, the French building industry approval body) covering 18,600 sq metres will produce
1,185 kWh/kWc/year, equivalent to the annual domestic electricity consumption of a town with
3,500 inhabitants. After 10 months of studies in close cooperation with Bouygues Immobilier and Outsign Architecture, Aérowatt built the large-scale power plant to deadline, while meeting the stringent safety requirements for a complex expected to draw several million visitors a year.

Orange les Vignes is the result of fruitful cooperation between Bouygues Immobilier, Aérowatt, the Vaucluse Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the city of Orange.