France has decided to double its capacity target for PV power generation to 1,000 MW per year as of 2013 and to offer a 10% bonus on feed-in tariffs for small PV plants using panels manufactured in the European Economic Area. A new tender for large installations (over 250 kWp) will be launched in early 2013 for a total 400 MW, with 200 MW of innovative technologies (CPV, solar trackers) and 200 MW of mature technologies (building mounted PV or parkings). The projects will have to be commissioned by March 2016. For medium-sized installations (100-250 kWp), a simplified tender system is implemented. Small-sized facilities will be promoted through the Feed-in tariff system, which will also include a 5% bonus for integrated installations. The T5 tariff (ground mounted facilities, CSP) will be cut by 20%.
The measures are expected to spur investments worth over €2bn and to stem the job losses in the French PV industry (from about 32,500 employees in 2010 down to 18,000 in 2012). The government estimated the annual cost at between €90m and €170m, to be levied on consumers through the existing CSPE tax on power bills.
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