France has awarded 220.3 MW of new capacity under its 9th rooftop solar auction
Most of the winning projects were under 500 kW capacity, with only 13 projects over 5 MW
Urbasolar emerged the largest winner in this round, securing 55.2 MW of the total awarded
The French Ministry of Ecological Transition has completed its 9th rooftop solar auction under the country’s multi-annual energy plan or PPE2, awarding 220.3 MW capacity to 54 winning projects. These projects, with more than 500 kW installed capacity, will be installed on buildings, agrivoltaic greenhouses, shade houses and agrivoltaic shade houses.
While the winning capacity is lower than the 400 MW the ministry originally offered, winning tariffs were lower than the previous round, which could be due to the drop in module prices.
The average winning tariff for the latest round was determined at €98.2 ($107)/MWh, a decline of over 1.7% from the last round’s €99.95/MWh, when 72 projects were awarded. It is also the lowest average winning tariff since the 3rd auction round under the same category when it reached €90.91/MWh.
According to market intelligence firm Finergreen, all regions were awarded in this round with Hauts-de-France securing the largest chunk of 55.2 MW including the biggest winning project of 17 MW capacity. It was followed by Centre Val-de-Loire winning 30.9 MW and Nouvelle-Aquitaine bagging 27.7 MW. In all, 62% of the winning capacity will be located in Northern France.
In terms of winners, Urbasolar ranked first with 40.9 MW, followed by UNITe’s 38.8 MW and GLP’s 20.9 MW win.
Most of the winning projects are under 5 MW installed capacity, and 13 projects are over 5 MW, including Urbasolar’s 17 MW project which is the largest individual winning project in this round.
The 10th rooftop solar auction round will also have 400 MW capacity on offer. The last date of submitting applications is March 28, 2025, according to Finergreen.
The French Ministry of Industry and Energy in France had earlier announced plans to lower rooftop solar incentives for projects under 500 kW capacity on a retroactive basis from February 1, 2025, on approval (see France Raises Industry Concerns By Lowering Rooftop Solar Incentives).
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