The French and Italian solar markets have both moved forward in their latest public tender process for solar capacity.
Italy closes requests for NZIA solar tender
Italy’s latest renewables auction has closed, with 157 bids totalling over 1.85GW of capacity chosen to move ahead, according to the country’s energy management agency, Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE).
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The second auction under the FER-X decree, which seeks to attract renewables under a Contract for Difference scheme, originally received 273 expressions of interest for over 3.1GW of solar capacity.
The scheme is designed to fit with the requirements of the EU’s Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), which encourages clean energy production and manufacturing within Europe and reducing the bloc’s reliance on Chinese solar hardware. The NZIA introduced “non-price criteria” for public renewables procurement, calling on governments to prioritise “responsible business conduct, cybersecurity, and sustainability and resilience contribution”, as well as price, in public renewables auctions.
Europe’s solar manufacturing industry – which has flagged and faltered in recent efforts to gain momentum – has said that NZIA “non-price criteria” could be a key demand driver to support a more resilient solar industry and reduce Europe’s reliance on Chinese products.
The European Commission said that 30% of yearly auction volumes must meet these criteria from 30 December 2025. Italy’s auction scheme is ahead of the curve, and will be followed by similar programmes in other member states.
From 30 December, NZIA-compliant auctions have to allocate some of their available contracts to projects which use non-Chinese components, including solar modules and cells and other components like inverters. Prospective participants in the auction must prove the provenance of their components and ultimately include at least four key components that are non-Chinese to show meaningful supply chain diversity.
The GSE said it would announce further details of the tender on 15 December 2025., potentially including specific recipients and component suppliers or countries of origin.
The first FER-X auction closed with over 12GW of renewable energy bids, 10GW of which were for solar PV capacity. That auction did not employ NZIA criteria.
France awards C&I solar tender
Meanwhile, the French Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition announced the results of its latest corporate & industrial (C&I) rooftop solar tender this week. It awarded 300.9MW of new capacity of projects over 500kW in size, having called for 300MW, indicating the popularity of the tender scheme.
The eleventh round of the auction closed with 129 successful project allocations for an average price of €96.48/MWh (US$111/MWh). This is a slight price increase from the previous round and a significant increase in awarded capacity, up from 191MW in the tenth tender.
Seine-et-Marne, outside Paris, was awarded the most successful capacity of any region, with 24.24MW across 77 projects. The northeaster region of Moselle had the second-most capacity, 18.68MW across 57 projects, and Bouches-du-Rhône in the south was third, with 17.06MW for 13 projects.
