France reduces grid fees for residential and commercial PV

France’s Ministry Of Ecological and Solidary Transition (MTES) has issued a new decree that introduces a significant reduction of the grid fees for renewable energy power generators with a capacity of up to 5 MW.

According to the new provisions, which came into effect on December 4, the grid fee for PV installations not exceeding 100 kVa will be lowered by 40%, while those for solar power generators ranging in size from 100 kVa to 5 MW will be lowered between zero to 40% depending on the project size. The fee reduction will be applied to all PV projects, including installations under self-consumption and projects selected in the government’s tenders, Samy Engelstein of French renewable energy association SER told pv magazine.

“This,” Engelstein stressed, “makes projects under 5 MW more attractive, as there will be a significant improvement of their economic balance. In certain cases, it can be a key point to make the project profitable.”

France is currently supporting residential and commercial PV through regulation for self-consumption and a three-year tender for rooftop PV installations above 100 kW in size. In the first two rounds of the tender, approximately 300 MW of PV capacity was allocated. The government expects developers to install 1,45 GW of PV through the three-year tender, which is open to rooftop PV systems installed on buildings, greenhouses, agricultural facilities and carports.