At the end of May 2022, Idex bought the building rights to two biomass cogeneration plants from the group Akuo, as part of a call for project launched by CNES, the French national space agency. With this acquisition, Idex strengthens its position as a key player in the energy transition in French overseas departments and territories.

These calls for projects were awarded in 2020 to the French renewable energy group Akuo. In 2021, as part of its shift in strategy to focus activities on solar and wind power, Idex acquired these two power plant projects (CBK1 and CBK2) to support CNES in its need for decarbonized energy at competitive and stable prices.

Low-carbon air conditioning and electricity

The plants will be built at the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in Kourou, with operational launch scheduled for January 2024 for CBK1 and January 2025 for CBK2. Once completed, the two power plants will use local biomass to produce electricity and air conditioning for the space center.

Part of the electricity produced will be injected into the public electricity grid under a contract with EDF SEI. As the owner and manager of these power plants, Idex is in charge of finalizing the development of the projects, then building, financing and operating the facilities, as well as supplying biomass to the two sites.

Following the operational launch of its biomass power plant in Montsinéry, Idex continues to develop renewable energy generation infrastructure in French Guiana and is strengthening its position as a turnkey project developer.

Key figures: 

  • Electric capacity of 9.1 MW (contract with EDF SEI)

  • Thermal capacity of 9.1 MW (air conditioning using ice water for CSG industrial sites)

  • Total investment of €120 million
    Processing of 120,000 metric tons per year of wood collected in French Guiana

This project strengthens our position as a developer of sustainable energy infrastructure projects in French Guiana. Following the operational launch of our plant in Montsinéry-Tonnegrande in the first half of 2023, we are pursuing our development efforts to support this region in its energy transition.
Benjamin Fremaux
Chairman of Idex