France has awarded 507.6 MW of solar PV capacity to 77 developers in the second round of its 3 GW tender. The average winning price was €55.5 per MWh in the segment between 5 and 17 MW. For all projects, the average tariff was €63.9 per MWh.
The French Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition stated that of all winners, 82% committed to participatory investments, which increased their premium by €3 per MWh. This, it said, reflects the willingness of citizens and communities to take ownership of energy production.
The region with the highest awarded capacity of 139.1 MW is Nouvelle Aquitaine, followed by 103.3 MW for Occitanie, 74.2 MW for Grand Est and 54.8 MW for Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur, among others.
The entire tender was divided into three categories. Over 300 MW was awarded in the 5 to 17 MW category, 135.4 MW in the 500 kW to 5 MW segment, and more than 71 MW in the 500 kW to 10 MW category for installations on carparks.
In the first category, the largest capacity winner was PSTW SAS, which won two projects of 17 MW capacity each in the Grand Est region. Another winner with 17 MW capacity was MEAUX SOLAIRE in Ile-de-France. The second category saw a number of companies winning 5 MW each in Occitanie and Nouvelle Aquitaine regions. The third category had Centrale Solaire Corbas 1 winning the largest chunk with 8.53 MW.
The list with details on the tender winners can be viewed on the French government's website.
This tender was part of the 3 GW large scale solar power capacity that the country is planning to add witing 3 years. Every six months, the government launches a 500 MW tender. In the first tender, it awarded 500 MW for large scale and 20 MW for self consumption projects (see France Awards 520 MW). The average price for large scale PV plants in the first tender was €62.5 ($66.20) per MWh.
Almost half of the projects in the second tender will be located on brownfields, dumps, and old quarries.
France will complete its next 500 MW auction on December 1, 2017.
At the end of December 2016, France reported cumulative solar power capacity of 7,134 MW with only 559 MW installed in 2016 itself, its lowest since 2009 (see France Installed 559 MW PV In 2016). It is targeting 20,200 MW of solar PV capacity by 2023 (see France Increases Solar Target).