The French government has completed its tender for commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftop photovoltaic projects, awarding 362.2 MW of solar capacity to 42 developers at an average cost of €0.1021/kWh.

The Final Round of the Rooftop Photovoltaic Bidding

The French Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition recently finalized the sixth bidding round for C&I rooftop photovoltaic systems with capacities over 500 kW, selecting sixty developers as winners. A report from PV Magazine notes that this auction was the final round in a series of tenders that began in 2021.

The Winners

This round was led by multinational utility-scale solar developer TotalEnergies, according to French consulting firm Finergreen. The company secured 80.1 MW of capacity, or 22% of the total awarded. Urbasolar, another French solar project developer, followed with 30.1 MW (8% of the total).

The Sun’R-RGreen partnership, a developer focused on developing solar energy, secured 26.2 MW, followed by independent photovoltaic energy producer Reden Solar with 19.7 MW.

Other notable winners include renewable energy producer Akuo (18.2 MW), French renewable energy producer Neoen (14.4 MWp), and independent green electricity producer Solveo Energies (13.9 MW).

In total, 42 developers were awarded contracts for projects above 5 MW, while 23 others received contracts for smaller projects.

Previous Rounds

By comparison, the fifth bidding round, which concluded in late August 2023, resulted in French authorities awarding 378 MW of solar capacity to 60 firms at an average price of €0.10195/kWh.

The fourth round was smaller, with the government allotting just 57.6 MW across 16 projects at an average cost of €0.10452/kWh.

The results from earlier tenders varied: the third allocated 89.9 MW at €0.090951/kWh, and the second awarded 122 MW at €0.08257/kWh.

In the first bidding round, the French government distributed 157 MW of solar power among 52 projects at an average price of €0.08312/kWh.