France Plans Tender for 3,000 Megawatts of Solar Power

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The French government has announced plans to launch a series of tenders to create 3,000 megawatts (MW) of new solar power.

The country's energy ministry said there will be a series of six tenders of 500 MW each starting in February next year and then followed at six-month intervals to 2020. The move comes just a month after the government pledged to triple its solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity to more than 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2023. For additional information, see July 22, 2016, article -- France Targets 20 GW of Solar Power.

France is determined to reduce its reliance on nuclear power. It has 58 reactors, more than any other European country, which supply around 75% of its power. However the government has backed plans to reduce that 50%, with more renewable energy being pushed to fill some of the gap.

"This timing ensures the entire chain [manufacturers, installers, developers] stability and visibility needed for a transition to larger scale production of photovoltaic electricity, which will contribute to the creation of green jobs," said French Environment and Energy Minister Segolene Royal in a statement. "The winners of the tender will benefit from the new support mechanism, the 'additional remuneration' under the decrees of 28 and 30 May 2016 made under the law on the energy transition to green growth."

Winning bidders will be chosen based on a variety of criteria including production price per kilowatt hour (KWh), carbon impacts and their ability to enhance degraded sites. They will also be liable for a premium on top of the market price for the electricity they generate--something the government hopes will attract increased investment in green energy projects.

French President Francois Hollande came to power in 2013 on a platform that promised to drastically reduce the country's reliance on nuclear power to 50% by accelerating the shutdown of the oldest plants. At the time he singled out Fessenheim for shutdown in 2016. However, last year Industrial Info reported on how he was forced to back-track on that pledge following ongoing delays at the new Flamanville 3 nuclear project. For additional information, see October 2, 2015, article--France's Oldest Nuclear Plant Gets Stay of Execution.

The country is also in the process of building its first offshore windfarms. In 2012, the government awarded three of the first four offshore wind tenders to a consortium made up of EDF Energies Nouvelles (Paris, France), DONG Energy A/S (Fredericia, Denmark), Nass & Wind Offshore (Lorient, France), wpd Offshore (Bremen, Germany) and Alstom SA (EPA:ALO) (Paris, France). For additional information, see April 12, 2012, article--EDF Wins Majority of French Offshore Projects.

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