From pv magazine France
The French Ministry of Energy Transition announced the results of its fourth tender round for solar projects in non-interconnected zones (ZNI) at the end of December.
The procurement exercise included rooftop and carport projects, agrivoltaic carports and greenhouses above 500 kW, and ground-mounted solar plants from 500 kW to 12 MW. Five projects totaling 40.07 MW were selected, below the originally planned 99 MW.
Akuo secured the largest award with its 17.7 MW Frassone project in Aléria, Corsica. Générale du Solaire won the 7.5 MW Paolacci project, also in Corsica, while an 8 MW rooftop project at Favagiolo was awarded on the island. Voltalia’s 5.017 MW Laussat project in French Guiana and Albioma Solaire Océan Indien’s 1.83 MW Bagapan project in Réunion rounded out the selection.
The weighted average price for the fourth round was €92.04/MWh, down from €112.52/MWh in the previous round. However, the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) cautioned that, given the limited number of bids, no statistically reliable trend can be inferred.
The tender was significantly undersubscribed, with applications totaling 99 MW. The CRE highlighted uneven geographical participation: 36% of submitted capacity targeted Category 2 ground-mounted projects in Corsica, though only 15% of the tender volume was allocated for this segment. No bids were received from Martinique.
CRE noted that persistently low subscription levels since 2023 require further analysis and corrective measures to accelerate solar deployment in ZNI. Key barriers include limited land, permitting challenges, grid-connection constraints, and issues with the S24 building tariff framework.
The regulator said that overcoming these obstacles is critical for accelerating the energy transition and reducing costs, as PV in non-interconnected zones primarily replaces more expensive thermal generation financed through public service energy charges (CSPE).
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