France announces solar feed-in tariffs retroactively
Energy policy
Last Thursday, France's Energy Regulatory Commission published the country's feed-in tariffs for systems up to 100 kilowatts. The rates apply for systems that apply for grid connections from July 1 to September 30 of this year. In other words, if you applied for a grid connection over the past three weeks, you only now know how much you will be getting per kilowatt-hour.
Solar investors in France have to be patient. Systems larger than 100 kilowatts are now awarded in a bidding process, but even if you are on the market for systems smaller than 100 kilowatts you still only know what your investment is worth After you have applied for a grid connection.
On Thursday, French energy regulator CRE announced what feed-in tariffs are applicable for Q3 2011. In other words, if you applied for a grid connection two weeks ago, you only now know retroactively what your investment is worth. The policy seems designed to discourage investment in photovoltaics by increasing investor insecurity.
The rates are as follows:
- residential building-integrated up to nine kilowatts: 42.55 cents
- residential building-integrated from 9 to 36 kilowatts: 37.23
- building-integrated on educational and healthcare facilities up to 36 kilowatts: 36.74
- other building-integratedup to nine kilowatts: 31.85
- "simple building arrays" up to 36 kilowatts: 27.46
- "simple building arrays" up to 100 kilowatts: 26.09
- all other installations: 11.69
In France, a distinction is made between two types of building-integrated systems: those that actually replace a part of the building, such as the roof membrane; and those that are simply installed on a building without replacing any of the building's structure.
The rates for building-integrated residential systems remain quite high compared to those in neighboring Germany, where 28.7 cents is paid for rooftop systems up to 30 kilowatts. It should also be kept in mind that insolation is considerably greater in southern France than in Germany. (Craig Morris)
