TotalEnergies has confirmed the abandonment of its Maya photovoltaic power plant project in French Guiana, one of its main renewable energy investments in France. The project, estimated at €200 million, aimed to provide stable electricity production through integrated storage capacity. The company attributes this decision to a lack of support from authorities, in the context of the revision of the multiannual energy programme (PPE).
An initially structuring project
Designed to ensure 20 megawatts of continuous power, the plant was to combine 120 megawatts-peak of solar panels and 240 megawatt-hours of batteries. Located in Macouria, it would have helped strengthen French Guiana’s electrical autonomy, a territory where the grid is regularly unstable. According to TotalEnergies, Maya represented one-third of the efforts needed to achieve this goal.
The announcement of the abandonment comes as the government has launched a public consultation on the revised PPE, which defines France’s energy policy until 2035. This document, published in February, states that additional production capacity around Cayenne is not deemed necessary, compromising the project’s viability.
Local reactions and uncertainties
Albéric Benth, president of the Syndicat Mixte d’Énergie de Guyane (Smeguy), claims he was not informed of the PPE’s implications for Maya and regrets the lack of an official justification for the project’s abandonment. Jean-Luc Le West, vice president in charge of economic development at the Collectivité Territoriale de Guyane (CTG), considers the situation worrying for the region’s investment attractiveness.
Maya’s cancellation could also affect other local economic initiatives. Marie-Lucienne Rattier, territorial councillor in charge of digital affairs, highlights the potential impact on her nearby data centre and digital village project, estimated at €480 million. The solar plant was supposed to provide a stable energy source, whose absence now calls the feasibility of the initiative into question.
The revised PPE is still subject to a final consultation before the adoption of a decree scheduled for early April.
