French small-scale solar scheme gets EU backing

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €5.7 billion French aid scheme to support renewable electricity production from small solar installations located on buildings.

The measure will help France achieve its 2030 target of producing 33 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources and will contribute to the European objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, without unduly distorting competition.

Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said, “This €5.7 billion support scheme will further help France in its transition to an environmentally sustainable energy supply.

“The measure, which will support production of renewable energy from small solar installations, complements another €30.5 billion French scheme to support production of electricity from renewable energy sources that the Commission has approved last month. It will further stimulate the development of renewable energy sources, while ensuring a level playing field in the French energy market,” she added on August 27.

The French scheme

France notified to the Commission its plans to introduce a new scheme to support the production of electricity from solar installations.

The scheme, which has a provisional budget of around €5.7 billion and will run until 2026, will be open to operators of small photovoltaic installations located on buildings with a capacity of up to 500 kilowatt.

These installations will be eligible to receive support in the form of a feed-in tariff (i.e., a guaranteed price for the electricity produced) over twenty years. The level of the feed-in tariffs will vary according to the size of the installation and the business model (i.e., installations injecting all electricity into the grid or installations consuming part of the generated electricity).

With this measure, France expects to develop 3,700 additional megawatt in solar renewable energy.

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