France plans to release a solar tender particularly for the Haut-Rhin area as a first concrete action to address the prepared closure of the 1.6-GW Fessenheim nuclear power plant, the power ministry claimed Friday.
France's earliest nuclear reactor to shut end-2018
Haut-Rhin prepares close cross-border cooperation with Germany
According to jr priest Sebastien Lecornu, the tender will be for 300 MW as well as will be released prior to completion of 2018.
ATMP na5 , on the border with Germany, is France's earliest nuclear reactor and also by law has to close when the brand-new Flamanville-3 reactor has come online, due in 2019.
EDF has established an end-2018 day for the closure of the plant, which employs practically 1,000 workers, with a first wave of employees readied to leave following summer.
France additionally intends to boost cross-border collaboration. Lecornu met the state minister of Baden-Wuerttemberg on Friday to discuss closer energy teamwork for the region. Across the border in Germany, two 1.4-GW atomic power plants are likewise set for closure by 2019 and also 2022 respectively.
In 2015, Germany approved new regulation opening its wind and also solar tenders to bordering states setting aside some 300 MW annually for projects abroad getting German subsidies.
French state-owned energy EDF plans to invest around Eur200 million ($245 million) per year from 2020 to develop 30 GW of solar capacity in France by 2035 as the federal government prepares to minimize the nation's reliance on nuclear.
Currently, France has around 8 GW of solar mounted, lagging behind Germany, Italy and also the UK in capability terms, according to Platts Renewable Power tracker.
The federal government targets some 20 GW of solar set up by 2023 as well as has launched a tender program, with subsidized expenses in the latest round in February being up to Eur61/MWh.
Former French power priest Segolene Royal had actually suggested in 2016 to Tesla founder Elon Musk transforming Fessenheim into an electric automobile factory, according to French media records.