“It’s the only place in France where the dead will bring in money” – Libération

With the aim of building the largest “electrical self-consumption” network in France, the town of Saint-Joachim has decided to cover its cemetery with nearly 5,000 solar panels. An approach deemed “immoral” by some, who regret the chosen location.

The rows of marble steles alternate between rust, black and gray. Here, a yellow chrysanthemum, a survivor of All Saints' Day, still sits proudly. There, another was swept away by the violent squall of mid-November. Further on, in the background to the left of the cemetery of Saint-Joachim, a town of 5,000 inhabitants located a few kilometers from Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique), wooden stakes and the fifty solar panels which overlook them stand out in this landscape disastrous. And this is only a prototype, released at the beginning of the month. In a little over a year, 5,800 panels will be installed across the entire cemetery. Or 9,000 m².

“We are aiming for a maximum production of 1.2 megawatts,” figure Philippe Renoux, vice-president of Brièr'Energie, an association tasked with piloting the project. “All this electricity will then be directly distributed to households who join our association, by paying a lifetime subscription of 5 euros, he continues. Suffice it to say that it’s almost free.” Today, just under 600 households – out of the 2,200 in the town –, owners and tenants, have joined the project. “In theory”, the installation will be able to meet the needs of approximately 20% of residents. “No other French city has a