France approves 720MW of solar as price falls another 5%

August 7, 2018
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
France is looking to deploy 3GW through its auction programme. The 300MW Cestas project was constructed outside the programme with a 20-year PPA in place with EDF.

France has approved 103 large-scale solar projects totalling 720MW in the latest phase of its 3GW deployment plans.

The winning bids averaged €58.2/MWh (US$67.5/MWh) a drop of 5% from the previous bidding round. February 2018’s capacity was awarded at a price of €61.6. The larger projects (5-30MW) averaged €52/MWh. ENGIE was among the big winners in the auction.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

More than a third of the awarded capacity is in the northern part of the country.

“All French regions can benefit from the large-scale development of solar photovoltaics,” said Nicolas Hulot, France’s minister for ecology and sustainable development. “The energy transition is now taking place everywhere, in all territories. This is made possible in particular by the increase in volumes and the bonus on the environmental relevance of the site set up in this call for tenders,” he added.

The next two auctions will be for 850MW each.

The winning projects can be viewed in full here.

3 November 2026
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2027. PV ModuleTech Europe 2026 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.

Read Next

Premium
January 15, 2026
Analysis: Expected changes to the EU’s cybersecurity laws that could have significant implications for the continent’s solar industry have been delayed, reportedly due to disagreement between officials and member states over how far they should go.
January 15, 2026
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will invest almost US$200 million in a 300MW/75MWh solar-plus-storage project in Uzbekistan.
January 14, 2026
Solar dominated employment in the renewable energy sector in 2024, accounting for over 40% of the global renewables workforce, the most of any sector.
January 14, 2026
SynergyRED, a wholly owned subsidiary of Synergy, has secured environmental approval for a 2GW solar, wind and battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Western Australia.
January 14, 2026
Australia’s utility-scale solar PV and wind assets collectively generated 5,420GWh in December 2025, a 19% increase from the previous year’s 4,551GWh, according to Rystad Energy.
January 13, 2026
India added 37.9GW of new solar PV capacity in 2025, a 54.7% increase compared with 2024 installations and a historical record, according to JMK Research.

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 24, 2026
Dallas, Texas
Solar Media Events
April 15, 2026
Milan, Italy
Solar Media Events
June 16, 2026
Napa, USA
Solar Media Events
November 3, 2026
Málaga, Spain