Between the application of the reduced VAT and the retroactive reduction in solar subsidies, a delay of eight months could spell disaster for the small-scale self-consumption power plant sector. The GPPEP, which defends these individual producers, warns of the risks for households wishing to equip themselves, but also for those with already installed systems who could find themselves without a contact for maintenance or repair of their installations. pv magazine France spoke with Joël Mercy, president of the association.

A Franco-German consortium is launching the EO4ER project, which uses next-generation satellite data to anticipate the impact of variable solar generation on electricity grids. Through a digital twin prototype, it aims to refine intraday forecasts and integrate the effects of climate change on PV energy production.

The French Senate has approved France’s 2025 Budget Law, cutting the value-added tax (VAT) to 5.5% for PV systems up to 9 kW from October 2025. Industry professionals say the delay might prompt homeowners to postpone installations to secure the lower rate.

AREP, a subsidiary of French railway operator SNCF, has deployed a prototype of a mini-reversible solar power plant on non-running rails to test it for six months. The solution is shipped in standardized ISO containers including inverters and storage batteries.

Collective self-consumption in France has more than doubled since 2023, reaching nearly 700 operations with approximately 8,500 participants throughout the country.

France’s new feed-in tariffs (FITs) for November to January range from €0.13 ($0.141)/kWh to €0.088/kWh, depending on system size.

The Ballinknockane solar farm, awarded to Neoen through the RESS 2 tender in 2022, will be connected to the high-voltage grid in County Limerick and will benefit from a contract for difference mechanism valid until 2040. Neoen announced construction of the plant with the signing of two turnkey EPC contracts with Vinci brand Omexom for the solar facility and TLI Group for the site’s 110 kV substation.

France-based Solarcloth tested and compared three colored solutions: MorphoColor interference sheets from the German Fraunhofer Institute; ColorQuant interference encapsulants from the German company Lenzing Plastics; and diffuser films from Switzerland-based Solaxess.

The Valence plant can produce 150 million square centimeters of active surface area of OPV modules using its inkjet printing technology, with the aim of quadrupling its capacity by 2026. Sensitive to natural and artificial light, Dracula’s modules operate indoors from any light source and are intended for use in IoT, industrial electronics and as battery replacements.