• French Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition has selected 107 projects under its 6th auction for ground-mounted solar PV projects
  • Total capacity contracted is 858 MW for projects in the range of 500 kW to 30 MW
  • Average bidding price for the auction was determined as €64 per MWh which is an increase of around 2% since last auction

France has awarded project development rights for 107 projects representing a total capacity of 858 MW under the 6th auction for ground-mounted solar PV projects. All projects won between 500 kW and 30 MW capacity. At least 44% projects are located outside the 4 regions of southern France.

Average bidding price was €64 ($71.77) per MWh, increasing around 2% from €62.7 ($70.31) per MWh determined during 5th auction concluded in February 2019. The average for installations with more than 5 MW capacity was €59.5 ($66.7) per MWh. Projects with capacities ranging between 500 kW and 5 MW secured average bids of €67.5 ($75.7) per MWh. Projects that will be established on parking roofs managed average of €88.3 ($99) per MWh.

Among winning projects, 58% will generate investment through public participation or through crowdfunding.

French renewable energy company Neoen announced winning 5 projects with 43 MW capacity in this tender. All projects are planned for brownfield sites in the French departments of Charente, Indre-et-Loire, HauteGaronne. 2 projects will be located in Landes, which will be owned by Neoen. The company plans to operationalize these by 2021.

A detailed list of winners is available on the website of the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition.

This tender is part of the government’s multi-year tenders for ground installations with capacities ranging between 500 kW to 30 MW. Since January 2017, the government has been launching tenders with 500 MW capacity every 6 months with an aim to have 3 GW of total capacity online between 2017 and 2020.

The cumulative installed solar PV capacity of France is currently 9.1 GW which the government aims to increase to between 35.6 GW and 44.5 GW by 2028.