France’s Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition has announced the list of successful bidders for the fourth round of auction to develop 1.5 GW of ground-mounted solar power projects in the country.

Projects were awarded for a total capacity of 1.519 GW. A total of 126 bidders were declared successful in the auction.

The average price quoted in the auction was €0.082 (~$0.086)/kWh.

Rubis Photosol secured the highest capacity of 252.5 MW (eight projects), followed by the special purpose vehicles (SPVs) of Neoen with 212.42 MW (14 projects).

Rubis Photosol bagged the biggest project of 98 MW at the Oise department in the Hauts-de-France region. Centrale Solaire, an SPV of Neoen, won the biggest project of 42.2 MW at the Essonne department in the Île-de-France region.

In terms of regions, the Hauts-de-France region attracted the most bids with a total capacity of 230.93 MW, the Centre-Val de Loire region with 224.95 MW, and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region with 218.2 MW.

Last month, France announced the list of successful bidders for the fifth round of auction for commercial and industrial rooftop solar projects of capacities higher than 500 kW for a total capacity of 378 MW. The average price quoted by the 60 winners in the auction was €0.1019 (~$0.1102)/kWh. Technique Solaire secured the highest capacity of 79.13 MW, followed by special purpose vehicles of Urba Solar with 57.59 MW and Reden Solar with 36.75 MW.

France installed 1,378 MW of solar capacity in the first half (1H) of 2023, compared to 1,233 MW installed in the same period of the previous year. The country recorded 11.2 TWh of solar power generation during the January- June period, an increase of 18% year-over-year. It accounted for 4.7% of France’s electricity consumption, representing 0.9% year-over-year growth. France’s total installed solar capacity was 18 GW as of June 30, 2023, with 17.3 GW in mainland France.

The regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and Pays de la Loire played a significant role in expanding solar power during 1H 2023. Collectively, these regions accounted for 67% of the newly connected capacity in the country.