France reduces FITs for rooftop PV up to 100 kW

The French Energy Regulatory Commission, CRE has revealed the new FIT levels for rooftop PV projects up to 100 KW in size for the first quarter of 2018.

Commenting on its decision, CRE said the FIT reduction, the extent of which is calculated based on how much capacity is installed in the previous quarter, was due to the deployment of around 96.9 MW of rooftop installations during the period between October and December 2017.

Of this capacity, around 17 MW comprises PV systems up to 9 kW, while the remaining 79.9 MW represents systems with a capacity of between 9 and 100 kW.

The new FITs will range from €0.1822 per kWh, to €0.1112, depending on the system size.

In the same document, CRE also reports that the level of rebates granted to projects built under the self-consumption regime will remained relatively unchanged, compared to the previous quarter.

Despite reduced FITs, demand for residential and commercial PV of up to 100 kW, and for projects under self-consumption is expected to increase this year, as a result of the 40% grid-fee reduction being applied to these power generators since the beginning of December.

According to the latest statistics released by the French Ministry of Economy, around 131 MW of the 484 MW of new solar capacity added in the country in 2017 came from grid connected PV systems up to 100 kW.