France allocates 637 MWp in large-scale PV tender, average price drops

The average price of winning projects in France’s latest tender for utility-scale solar projects has slipped by 3% from the previous call, with awards totalling 636.7 MWp.

The 10th tender period of auctions held by the country’s Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) targeted 700 MWp. The allocated capacity comes from 80 projects, which were announced last week by the government.

The average price proposed by winning schemes stood at EUR 56.65 (USD 64.19) per MWh, as compared to EUR 60.10/MWh in the previous competition round.

Bidding in the tender was carried out in three separate categories. The first one was open to photovoltaic (PV) projects larger than 5 MWp and the average price in it came at EUR 52.32/MWh, against EUR 53.38/MWh in round nine. Bidding in the window for projects of between 500 kWp and 5 MWp ended with an average price of EUR 63.40/MWh, compared to EUR 62.65/MWh in the prior round, while the one for installations on parking shades rose to EUR 82.29/MWh from EUR 80.69/MWh in the previous call.

The full list of winners is available on the website of the energy ministry: https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/2021-0381%20Annexe%20Liste%20laur%C3%A9ats%20AO%20CRE4%20sol%20T10.pdf

The two largest selected projects, in terms of capacity, are a 42.8-MW scheme in Grant Est and a 40.1-MW project in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Dhamma Energy, Technique Solaire and Engie are among the winning developers. France-based Neoen has bagged a total of 130.3 MWp.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.133)

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