France allocates 858 MW in PV tender

France’s Ministry of the Ecological and Solidarity Transition has published a list of winning projects for the sixth round of the government’s multiyear tender for the development of utility-scale solar plants. A total of 107 projects, with a combined capacity of 858 MW, was assigned through the procurement exercise.

In terms of geographical distribution, projects are not concentrated only in the south of France; on the contrary, 44% are located outside of the country’s four southern regions.

“This good distribution demonstrates the effectiveness of the selection criteria put in place by the ministry, in particular the bonuses granted in the event of installation on degraded land (for example, a brownfield, an old quarry, or a former airfield),” said the ministry.

Of the 107 projects, one installation on degraded land secured an exemption from the tender’s size limit, which is 30 MW. The project was awarded to French energy giant Engie, which will develop a 32.37 MW array in Gironde.

Rising average price

The guaranteed price for projects exceeding 5 MW in size is €59.50/MWh, which is slightly higher than the previous round. The average price for installations ranging between 500 kW and 5 MW in size was €63.80/MWh, with projects on parking canopies nabbing the highest average price at €87.50/MWh. The round’s overall final average price was €64/MWh.

More than half of the projects (58%) will also benefit from a tariff increase, as they are being partly financed through crowdfunding. This is the last of six rounds for the utility-scale segment, for a total of 4 GW of solar.