© VINCI Energies
The French authorities recently announced two new tenders for 1,000 MW of ground-mounted PV power plants per year over 6 years and 450 MW of building-integrated PV systems per year over 3 years.
Solar energy is one of the French government’s key priorities in terms of energy transition. Ségolène Royal, French Minister for the Environment, Energy, Oceans and International Climate Relations, announced several measures aimed at expanding solar power during the National Solar Energy Days held by the DERBI competitiveness cluster and the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) from 28 to 30 June in Perpignan.
1,000 km of solar road
This priority ties in with the goal to develop 1,000 km of solar road. The Energy Minister set a number of development targets in the Decree of 24 April 2016, which are due to be met in 2023, such as: “a more than threefold increase in the installed PV capacity compared with the current level” and “an 80% rise in thermal solar compared with the current level”.
These measures are well under way since solar generation capacity has increased by 40% since 2014. Three other tenders were introduced two years ago, which will generate more than €1 billion in investment and create over 5,000 jobs in the sector.
In order to continue this momentum, Ségolène Royal has just announced two new tenders for 1,000 MW of ground-mounted PV power plants per year over 6 years and 450 MW of building-integrated PV systems per year over 3 years.
Driving innovation and industrial activity
The Energy Minister points out that: “The development of renewable energies, particularly solar energy, coupled with energy storage, will drive innovation and industrial activity, creating green growth jobs. France has a number of assets in this field, with its cutting-edge research and development, its manufacturers and its non-interconnected areas.”.
12/10/2016
