Rooftop Solar Costs Fall 5% in Latest French Tender

Fifth rooftop auction sees farmers taking 40 percent of 230 megawatts.

France’s latest rooftop solar auction saw prices dropping 5 percent compared to a previous round in April, according to the government.

The tender, for 230 megawatts of rooftop solar across 392 projects, saw costs falling from an average of €80.80 (USD $92.77 at current exchange rates) in April to €76.80 ($88.22) per megawatt-hour. 

Larger projects within the tender went as low as €72.20 ($82.87) per megawatt-hour, marking a record for the French market, the government said. 

India and France Building Strong Clean Energy Partnership

India and France are working to shape a strong development partnership, in the fields of technology, clean energy and infrastructure, said Sushma Swaraj.

India and France are working to shape a strong development partnership, including in the fields of science and technology, clean energy and infrastructure, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said as she met the country's top leadership and discussed issues of mutual interest from a strategic perspective.

France Looking to Become Major Player in Global Marine Energy Market

France is hoping to send a message about its potential role in the world's hydropower sector with the announcement of preliminary studies that will ultimately lead to the launch of tidal energy tenders.

Speaking at the Renewable Energies Union's Annual Symposium in Paris, Remi Gruet, CEO of multinational think tank Ocean Energy Europe said the move is intended to position France as a global leader in marine energy manufacturing.

New Law Brings Cheaper, Faster Offshore Grid Connections in France

FRANCE: The cost of grid connection for all new offshore-wind projects tendered under the competitive dialogue process will be carried by grid operator RTE rather than the developer, according to a new French law.

It will include stranded costs in the event of the tender being abandoned.

"This will allow quicker implementation of marine renewable-energy projects and reduce their cost," the government said.

France is Taking Another Step in its Transition Toward Renewable Energy

Country to ban new oil and gas exploration projects

France is set to take a major step forward in its transition away from fossil-fuels in favor of renewable energy. The country is planning to no longer grant licenses for new oil and gas exploration projects. This is part of France’s “ecological transition,” which will see the country move away from old forms of power that produce harmful emissions. By halting new oil and gas exploration projects, France may be able to significantly slow the development of new fossil-fuel systems as it works to embrace renewable energy more aggressively.

New Self-Consumption Law Expected to Spark France’s Nascent Home Storage Market

Analysts are expecting an increase in residential battery sales in France following the approval of a solar self-consumption law last month.

Samuel Portebos with Paris-based Clean Horizon Consulting said home battery sales may rise to a few hundred units per year thanks to legislation that improves the prospects for self-consumption. The nascent residential market will add to growing demand for energy storage in France, which Clean Horizon expects will lead to three times today’s installed capacity by 2020.

French Solar Subsidies Strike New Record Below Germany

Subsidies plummeted in the first of six tender rounds for large-scale ground-based solar power in France, results published by the energy ministry on Thursday showed.

This is likely to squeeze profits for other sources of electricity as the cost of generation from ground-based solar comes close to parity with combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs).

There were 79 winners of a combined 500MW of capacity in the first solar PV tender, which ran from 9 January–3 February, the ministry said. The tender was the first to be held under the country’s multi-annual energy plan, adopted in 2016, to drive investment in solar power over the next three years.

Most of the installations will be built in the south of France, the list of winning developers showed.

The government has set a target to have between 18.2GW and 20.2GW of solar PV capacity installed by 2023.

European Commission Approves French Support Schemes for 2.6GW of Solar

The European Commission has approved French plans to develop 2.6GW of small and large-scale solar and 60MW of hydropower.

The Commission endorsed two separate solar schemes, which have a provisional budget of €8.8 billion (US$9.4 billion) over 20 years.

One scheme helps pay the feed-in tariff (FiT) subsidy to operators of small-scale solar installations (<100kW) on domestic and commercial rooftops. This will account for roughly 1.5GW installations.

France Adopts Law for Self-Consumption of Renewable Energy

The French parliament has adopted a draft law on self-consumption of electricity from renewable energy sources.

The law proposed back in July 2016 provides a legal framework for self-consumption of renewables and will introduce a definition of self-consumption, as well as collective self-consumption. Grid operators will also be obliged to help facilitate self-consumption.

Richard Loyen, director general of French renewable energy association Enerplan, told PV Tech: “The most important [thing] in the law is the introduction of a new regulation for self-consumption at local level. The self-consumption is not only allowed for individual customers, but also for multi-customers (at the scale of a building and small district – limitation at 100kW).”

France Gears Up for Floating Wind

The emergence of floating wind power in France took another step forward earlier this month when the government announced two winners to a call for floating wind pilot plants.

Two pre-commercial pilot projects, each of 24 MW, will be built out under terms of the tender in independent locations.

One project — located in the Leucate zone of the Mediterranean — will be developed by utilities Engie and EDP Renewables, in concert with French bank Caisse de Dépôts et Consignations, Eiffage, Principle Power and GE. Four 150-6MW turbines from GE Haliade are to be installed.

French Industry Body Backs Ambitious Renewable Energy Targets

* Onshore wind capacity to more than double by 2023

* French solar capacity to nearly triple by 2023

* No nuclear plant closures planned before 2019

A French industry body  increased draft government targets for onshore wind energy capacity ahead of their final publication.

In coming weeks, the government will publish a decree with targets for renewable energy capacity, which will implement broad targets set in France's energy transition law and will give firms like EDF and Engie as well as smaller and foreign players clarity about future tender volumes.

Why France's New Energy and Green Growth Law is a Big Deal

Alasdair MacEwen of Culmer Raphael reflects on how the French government has strengthened its green economy ahead of the Paris Summit with sweeping new legislation

The French legislature has just passed into law the "energy transition for green growth" Bill. Ecology minister Ségolène Royal describes it as "the most advanced and ambitious piece of environmental legislation in Europe, and probably the world" – this is, perhaps, an exaggeration - but it could still end up as one of France’s most significant Bills in decades. And it has put Royal in the spotlight ahead of December's COP21 meeting in Paris.

French Energy Transition Bill Adopted

France's National Assembly yesterday gave final approval of the country's energy transition bill. Under the legislation, France's reliance on nuclear energy will be reduced to 50% of power generation by 2025.

French president Francois Hollande's 2012 election pledge was to limit nuclear's share of French generation at 50% by 2025, and the closure of France's oldest nuclear power plant, Fessenheim, by the end of 2016. In June last year, following a national energy debate, his government announced that the country's nuclear generating capacity would be capped at the current level of 63.2 GWe. It will also be limited to 50% of France's total output by 2025. Nuclear currently accounts for almost 75% of the country's electricity production, making closures of power reactors appear inevitable.

French Bill Seeks to Boost Renewable Energy, Cut Nuclear Use

France's lower house of parliament has approved a bill aimed at boosting renewable energy and reducing the country's reliance on nuclear power, among other environment-friendly measures.

The French government wants to be exemplary this year in environmental matters, since Paris is hosting a U.N.-backed conference in December where 196 countries aim to limit greenhouse gas emissions to fight global warming.

France's National Assembly Approves Energy Transition Law

The lower house of French parliament, the National Assembly, passed on Tuesday an energy transition bill that aimed at reducing nuclear use and promoting renewable use.

Submitted by Segolene Royal, Energy Minister and ex-partner of French President Francois Hollande, the text was approved by 314 lawmakers against 219 unfavorable votes.

French Energy Transition Law to Cut Red Tape on Renewables

France's much-delayed energy transition bill passed a key hurdle on Tuesday after a clear majority of the lower house of parliament adopted a text that skirts the key nuclear issue but includes simplification measures likely to boost renewables.

A cap on French nuclear power production at the current level, approved last week, was the main point of contention in the bill defended by Energy Minister Segolene Royal.

France to Earmark 10 Billion Euros of Funding to Promote Renewable Energy Use

France will mobilize about 10 billion euros ($13.41 billion) for a package of tax breaks, low-cost loans and bonuses to boost investment in renewable energy and cut the country's oil and gas bill, Energy Minister Segolene Royal said on Tuesday.

Royal, President Francois Hollande's fourth energy minister in two years, is tasked with reducing the country's reliance on nuclear energy - the highest in the world - to 50 percent of its electricity production from 75 percent and boosting renewable energy sources.

Brazil Looks to Wind; French Cook up a New Energy Future

While the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil has dribbled and tackled its way through its goal-rich group phase, the country’s power sector has been stuck in crisis mode.

Low rainfall and therefore depressed production from hydropower has led to a high dependence on the spot market for thermal power. However, renewable energy developers have had reason to celebrate with wind a big winner of an auction in early June on top of having walked away with a record amount of contracted capacity in 2013.

French Energy Bill to Boost Renewables, Skirt Nuclear Question

* Energy minister to present law to cabinet on Wednesday

* Nuclear energy to be capped at current 63.2 GW - sources

* No reactor closure to be mentioned in law - source

France, Ireland consider consumer tax on CO2

The French government plans next year to begin making heavy users of household and transport fuels bear more of the tax burden. President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to say in coming weeks that such a shift is necessary to nudge French citizens toward cleaner alternatives.

The tax would reportedly start at about 14 euros (or $20) for each ton of CO2 emitted, and could rise to levels of around 100 euros ($143) for each ton by 2030. That could mean substantial increases in the price of gasoline and diesel, as well as a sizable jump in the cost of keeping homes warm.

But skeptics say the idea may have less to do with clean energy, and more to do with a desire on the part of Mr. Sarkozy’s government to find new ways to keep the national debt in check.

Source: http://bit.ly/IHrgH