France Selects 306 Rooftop Solar Projects in Latest Auction Round

France has selected 306 rooftop solar projects worth a combined 152 MW in generation capacity in the tenth round of auctions that were recently concluded

The Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition in France recently announced the winners in the tenth round of tenders for commercial and industrial rooftop PV systems with generation capacities ranging from 100 kW to 8 MW. In total, 306 solar projects worth a combined 152 MW in generation capacity have been selected.

As per the results, the final average prices came in lower than those recorded in the ninth round of auctions that was held earlier this year. The projects will have a final average price of EUR 93.98/MWh for generating capacities between 100 kW and 500 kW, and EUR 83.06/MWh for those whose capacities range from 500 kW to 8 MW. In the ninth round of auctions, the final prices were EUR 96.49/MWh for projects in the first category (100-500 kW), and EUR 86.17/MWh for projects in the second category (500 kW – 8 MW).

According to the list of winners that was published by the ministry recently, most of the 306 projects have an installed capacity of less than 300 kW. Moving on to the larger project sizes, 27 of the selected projects have a capacity greater than 1 MW, with the largest project being a 6.9 MW system. Technique Solaire Invest, which also won multiple smaller projects, grabbed the largest project in the Dordogne department.

The government noted that it will grant delays for the commissioning of projects as part of a recovery plan following the COVID-19 crisis. The country’s goal is to have up to 44.5 GW of cumulative installed PV capacity in 2028.

In April, we had reported that French energy major Total had won more than 135 MW of solar projects during the latest round of tenders conducted by the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). The company has won the tenders through Total Quadran, a wholly-owned affiliate dedicated to developing and producing renewable energy in France. Out of an aggregate capacity won, Total secured 131 MW of capacity for ground-mounted solar parks, as well as 5.6 MW of solar in the French Overseas departments and collectivities.