The government of France recently launched a new 400 MW request for proposals for solar PV projects larger than 250kW in size, according to recent reports.
Of this new 400 MW request, 50 MW is for solar projects in parking facilities, below 4.5 MW in size; 150 MW is for rooftop solar projects; and 200 MW is for ground-mounted solar projects. With regard to the 200 MW for ground-mounted projects, 75 MW is for projects under 5 MW in size, and 125 MW is for projects larger than 5 MW but less than 12 MW in size.
Those interested must submit their application by June 1, 2015, in order to be considered.
The country’s Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy has already determined the floor and ceiling prices for each category of the request. Any bids outside of these limits will be removed from consideration. The final prices per MWh will be determined via a formula taking into account a number of factors, including: highest and lowest bids, price bid, carbon reduction potentials, expected environmental impacts, planning permission status, and possible site rehabilitation.
This announcement follows on the heels of the Ministry’s announcement that it had awarded roughly 400 MW of contracts to projects between 100kW to 250kW in size.
Politic turmoil in recent times in the country had previously been holding back solar expansion, but with the recent appointment of the former presidential candidate Ségolène Royal, things have begun moving again.
On a related note, what will soon be the largest solar PV power plant in the whole of Europe is currently under development in Cestas, France. And that project took another step forward recently when the developers came to an agreement with Yingli Solar to purchase 120 MW of solar modules for the project.
Source: CleanTechnica. Reproduced with permission.
