Featured in Powering Through – 05-2025

Solar energy’s insurance policy

France experienced a significant rise in negatively-price electricity hours in 2024, with the figure more than doubling to 359 hours, from 147 hours in 2023, according to data from grid operator RTE. The negative prices reflected the growing output of renewable energy, primarily solar power, during the day, and an electricity system struggling to adapt to the new reality. Hybrid and standalone batteries provide a promising solution to the declining value of solar energy while also helping to balance the grid, pv magazine France’s Gwénaëlle Deboutte reports.

By

Gwénaëlle Deboutte

02 May 2025

Stationary battery storage can become “life insurance” for solar, say French industry insiders. | Photo: Omexom

Negative electricity prices aren’t inevitable if the photovoltaic sector takes a proactive approach, according to Mathieu Lassagne, chief executive of ZE Energy. His company has been developing hybrid solar and energy storage plants since 2019. Lassagne called stationary battery energy storage “solar life insurance” and emphasized flexibility in electricity supply as another key part of …

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