Recently, France’s Ministry of Ecological Transition has completed the 9th round of rooftop solar tenders, which falls under the framework of the 6th PPE2 (Multi-Year Energy Programming). Originally planning to tender 400MW, only 220.3MW of installed capacity was ultimately awarded to 54 projects. Among these projects, 13 have a single installed capacity exceeding 5MW, with the rest ranging from 500kW to 5MW. The projects will be installed on buildings, agricultural photovoltaic greenhouses, awnings, and agricultural photovoltaic shading structures.
Due to the decline in photovoltaic component prices, the winning bid prices this time are lower than the previous round. The average winning bid price is €98.2/MWh ($107/MWh), a 1.7% decrease from the previous round’s €99.95/MWh. This is also the lowest winning bid price since the 3rd round of bidding.
According to Finergreen data, 62% of the awarded capacity is located in northern France. Projects in all regions of France have been successful, with Hauts-de-France approving 55.2MW, ranking first. Other major winning regions include Centre-Val de Loire with 30.9MW and Nouvelle-Aquitaine with 27.7MW.
In terms of winning companies, Urbasolar tops the list with 40.9MW, followed by UNITe (38.8MW) and GLP (20.9MW).
The French government will continue to offer 400MW of capacity in the 10th round of rooftop solar tenders, with a bid submission deadline of March 28, 2025. It is worth noting that the French Ministry of Industry and Energy has previously announced a reduction in incentives for rooftop solar projects below 500kW starting from February 1, 2025, which may impact the return on investment for future small-scale rooftop solar projects.
