The French energy regulatory commission (CRE) has announced that 120MW of new solar capacity was connected in the country during the final quarter of 2013 and has confirmed the new tariffs for the first quarter of 2014, reported PV Tech.
CRE calculated that a total of 602MW of solar eligible for the country’s support mechanism was connected quarterly during 2013. In addition, 41.36MW solar power plants applied to be integrated in the final quarter, and 78.9MW of solar power projects applied for simplified integration, adding a total of 120.26MW of new capacity.
According to PV Tech’s report, the new tariff rates are:
Installation Type |
Power |
2014/01/01 ~ 2014/03/31 |
BIPV |
0-9kW |
28.51 c €/kWh |
Simplified BIPV |
0-36 kW |
14.54 c €/kWh |
36-100 kW |
13.81 c €/kWh |
|
Without integration or outside above criteria or ground mounted |
0-12MW |
7.36 c €/kWh |
Source: Enerplan; Translated by PV Tech
In October 2013, France announced a review of solar tariffs was scheduled. Before this, a cap of 20% was added to decreasing solar tariffs, which was as effective as the one of October.
PV Tech reported that approximately 40% of new installations in 2013 came from middle-weight projects between 36kW and 100kW. Plants of 250kW or more made up almost a quarter of new installations as of June 2013.
According to French grid operator Electricite Reseau Distribution France (ERDF), mainland France installed more than 3.33GW solar power system, as of July 2013.