France plans to launch its first solar PV auctions under PPE3 in July 2026, including for small-scale and ground-mounted installations
Support schemes for households and small businesses will increasingly focus on self-consumption
Offshore wind receives the largest allocation with 10 GW of tenders combining fixed-bottom and floating projects
France has announced the schedule for renewable energy auctions under its 3rd Multi-year Energy Program (PPE 3). The plan includes solar PV, onshore wind, and offshore wind projects, with the first solar PV auctions set to launch in July 2026.
Solar PV auctions will comprise both small-scale and ground-mounted PV projects. The government plans to refocus support schemes for households and small businesses to encourage self-consumption and protect them from fluctuations in the electricity market prices. It will also ensure stable electricity costs over several years.
For this, it will strongly encourage self-consumption for projects in the 9 kW to 100 kW range under the open-window scheme for installations <100 kW. New measures to further encourage its uptake are being implemented, according to the government.
It targets to launch a tender for 288 MW of small-scale solar PV capacity within the 100 kW to 500 kW range in July 2026, which will comprise both rooftop and ground-mounted solar.
It also plans to issue a call for 925 MW ground-mounted solar PV projects in July 2026. Additionally, the government is designing a technology-neutral tender to support solar PV projects across all technologies. It aims to publish this tender in autumn 2026.
The government adds that it will adjust the solar auctions to support competitive projects that can support the industrialization of the French and European solar industry, which currently relies on manufacturing taking place outside of the European Union (EU).
Some of the steps include the introduction of a resilience criterion in the upcoming solar tenders. This criterion will require that a portion of the essential components of photovoltaic panels come from diversified supply sources. Later, it also plans to add sustainability and cybersecurity requirements to it.
By 2027, it plans to include an ambitious definition of preference for European-made products, specifying its geographical scope, in all its PV tenders.
It is offshore wind that gets the most focus, with 10 GW tender capacity announced. This combines both AO9 and AO10 tender capacities for 5 GW fixed-bottom and 5 GW floating wind power to control the cost of awarding projects. This capacity will be distributed across all its maritime coastlines. Initial winners are planned to be announced in late 2026 or early 2027. France aims to reach 45 GW of offshore wind by 2050, starting with 15 GW by 2035.
The onshore wind tenders to be launched in May 2026 will have a target capacity of 800 MW. Another tender will follow in September 2026.
The details of the auction schedule are available on the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty’s website.
Under the PPE3 framework, France aims to achieve 48 GW of solar PV capacity by 2030, and between 55 GW and 80 GW by 2035, lowering it from the previous target of 65 GW to 90 GW. Between 2026 and 2028, it aims to launch 2.9 GW of solar PV tenders annually (see France To Launch 2.9 GW Solar Tenders Annually).