As the three-year suspension of EDF’s obligation to purchase photovoltaic electricity came to an end, some changes were mandatory. The sector had been left in very poor condition and several thousand jobs were directly threatened. The French Government set up a meeting with the major actors of the branch, which led to a radical restructuration of the legal rules applicable to solar plants.
This brand new set of regulation is mainly based on two legal devices: an obligation to purchase electricity for installations on buildings with a capacity lower than 100 kWp (I) and calls for tender for other installations (II).


I/ The tariffs

The new tariff regulation has been published in the French Official Journal on March 5th, 2011.
Regarding the previous regulation, it causes an average 20% cut-back.
There are different tariffs for each category of solar plants with a capacity under 100 kWp.
These tariffs will be lowered on a quarterly basis, according to the number of new projects drafted during the previous trimester.
Quarterly cut-backs make it difficult to fund this type of project, especially because the new quarterly price is unknown until the end of the first month.
The tariff for a specific installation will be secured after the developer’s request for a connection to the grid. The purchase convention lasts for 20 years (or least if the production hasn’t started 18 months after this request).
Along with the documents required by the request to be connected to the grid, the developer must provide either a certificate from a bank or a loan offer on the financial support necessary to the project’s accomplishment.
This requirement, demanded at the project’s early stage of development, might hurt small-scale producers.
For grounded plants and installations over100 kWp, another tariff is planned (12 c€/kWh) but it was not intended to make these projects profitable. Indeed, the French government chose another procedure: calls for tender. Thus, the government should be able to regulate the installed capacity according to the European and national objectives.


II/ The calls for tender

The French decree published on June 28th, 2011brought about changes in the call for tender procedure applicable to solar energy production facilities.
From now on, socioeconomic as well as environmental conditions can be taken into account in the specifications, in addition to economic, financial and operating conditions.
Furthermore, the French Minister of Energy can also choose between an ordinary procedure (a) and a new one, called the accelerated procedure (b).

a) The accelerated procedure
This procedure concerns the photovoltaic systems between 100 and 250 kWp. It allows the producer to answer the call online, through a dedicated website, as the frequency of the calls for tender (every three months) demands a quick procedure.
The French Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) shall then study and forward the answers to the Minister of Energy in less than 2 months.
The specifications for the first simplified call for tender have been published August 1st of 2011.
It concerns a total capacity of 300 MW including 120 MW for spring 2012 and 30 MW for the six following trimesters.
The only criterion is the price per MWh, that shall range from 150 to 300 euros, meaning that the only way to win the call is to propose the lowest price possible.
The installations must meet the criteria for the simplified integration of the solar panels in the buildings, and the developer needs to hold a city-planning authorization prior toanswering the call.
The solar plants shall then start producing electricity between 18 and 24 months after the Administration positive decision (depending on the potential delays caused by the connection works).
Manufacturers of photovoltaic devices shall be certified ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 (or equivalent). The burden of recycling is on the producer who will have to deal with the panels through a specialized organism.

b) Ordinary procedure
It concerns large installations on roofs (over 250 kWp) and ground plants. The specifications for the first call for tender have been published September 15th.
It is about installations with a total capacity of 450 MW.
The specifications distinguish three types of installations, divided in seven sub-types.
The French ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) will grade each file out of 30, according to several criteria: requested buying price, environmental aftermath of industrial risks evaluation, feasibility, manufacturing deadline and contribution to R&D. Yet, the price criterion is of the essence (12 points out of 30).
The French Government is thus setting a regulation much more restrictive and very less attractive. Moreover, a complete reorganization of this system is already scheduled for 2012.