France Announces Tender For 400 MW Of Large Solar Photovoltaic Plants

A tender for 400 MW of new solar photovoltaic plants that are 250 kW or larger was recently announced by the French Ministry of Energy, Ecology, and Sustainable Development.

Their statement specified that there will be priority given to projects that are developed on “soil degraded sites,” such as brown-fields. This is being done so as to limit conflicts pertaining to development on farmland. Both ground-mounted plants and roof projects are eligible.

“The French Ministry has removed the requirement of bank guarantees before submission of the tenders to avoid disadvantaging small- and medium-sized businesses,” PV-Magazine stated in its coverage.

“Furthermore, the tender will take into account the carbon footprint of the projects and their contribution to research and development in terms of increasing innovation and employment in France.” Tender submissions will be accepted until the September 16 deadline.

As of right now, France’s total PV capacity is only around 3.5 GW, but it has recently been adopting policies that should help to increase the rate of adoption. In January, it doubled its annual minimum installation rate, from 500 MW in 2012 to 1 GW in 2013.