THE FRENCH MANAGING INCENTIVES

Flexible French FITs: Higher Biogas--Lower PV Tariffs Coming, Wind Nearing 2% of Supply, 2010 Solar PV Installations Rival that in USA, 1,000 to 1,500 MW of Solar PV for 2011, Overcost Due to Fossil Fuels--Not Renewables
Paul Gipe, March 3, 2011 (Wind-Works)

"…[T]he French government [proposes] to substantially raise feed-in tariffs for biogas, while dropping tariffs for solar photovoltaics (solar PV) by an equivalent amount…The proposal raises biogas tariffs 20% to be more inline with those in neighboring Germany, by including incentive payments for the use of wastes from livestock operations. The Ministry's proposal also includes a new tariff for biogas injected into the natural gas distribution system.

"More controversial are the Ministry's revision of solar PV tariffs and a new target for the French solar industry of 500 MW per year. The Ministry is proposing cuts of 20% across the board and new regulations to rein in the growth of solar in France…The new policy will go into effect…on March 9th…"

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"…720 MW of solar PV [were installed] in continental France (France Metropolitaine) and its overseas territories in 2010, bringing total installed capacity to more than 1,000 MW for the first time…There are now 152,000 solar PV installations…French 2010 installations were more than double those of 2009 and rival the approximately 800 MW of solar PV installed in the US…France now has the seventh-largest installed solar PV capacity in the world, after Germany, Spain, Japan, Italy, the USA, and the Czech Republic.

"The Ministry expects from 1,000 MW to 1,500 MW of new solar PV will be installed in 2011 and 2012…[rivaling the] total installed capacity…of the US…[though] France has one-fifth the population…[T]he vast majority of French solar installations are in distributed applications. There were 13,000 projects greater than 3 kW, representing 70% of total capacity installed in 2010. Only 92 projects [128 MW] installed in 2010 were greater than 250 kW…"

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"French installations of new wind-generating capacity in 2010 remained steady at 1,100 MW, bringing total installed wind capacity in France to 5,700 MW…1.8% of supply, up from 1.5% in 2009…There are 3,700 MW of wind capacity and 4,100 MW of solar PV capacity in the transmission queue waiting for connection…

"…Ostensibly as a means to limit costs to ratepayers, the Ministry has set a new target, 500 MW per year, for the installation of solar PV, and adopted the regulations to limit growth…Germany, one of France's main trading partners, has recently reaffirmed its target of 3,500 MW per year…To restrict the type and number of installations, all rooftop projects greater than 100 kW but less than 250 kW will have [new regulations]…[A]ll rooftop projects greater than 250 kW, and ground-mounted projects of any size will have [more conventional regulations]…"