GDF Suez opens new solar facility near southern French coast

French energy company GDF Suez said Wednesday it inaugurated what it said is among the most powerful solar facilities in France.

The town of Besse-sur-Issole, near the southern coast of France, hosts a photovoltaic facility able to produce 20 million kilowatt-hours per year. That's enough to meet the annual energy needs of more than 11,000 people, more than four times the population of the town.

With the new facility inaugurated, GDF Suez says it has 105 peak megawatts of solar energy installed in France.

"We have a strong ambition: to become leader in energy transition in Europe by relying on the development of renewable energy, energy efficiency and smart energy," Jean-Francois Cirelli, vice-chairman and president of GDF Suez, said in a statement.

The company has 7,000 megawatts of renewable energy installed in Europe and aims to invest more than $1 billion on mostly solar and onshore wind energy by 2016.