France plans to launch a solar tender specifically for the Haut-Rhin region as a first concrete measure to address the planned closure of the 1.6-GW Fessenheim nuclear power plant, the energy ministry said Friday.
France's oldest nuclear power plant to close end-2018
Haut-Rhin plans close cross-border cooperation with Germany
According to junior minister Sebastien Lecornu, the tender will be for 300 MW and will be launched before the end of 2018.
Fessenheim, on the border with Germany, is France's oldest nuclear power plant and by law has to close once the new Flamanville-3 reactor has come online, due in 2019.
EDF has set an end-2018 date for the closure of the plant, which employs almost 1,000 workers, with a first wave of workers set to leave next summer.
France also wants to increase cross-border cooperation. Lecornu met the state minister of Baden-Wuerttemberg on Friday to discuss closer energy cooperation for the region. Across the border in Germany, two 1.4-GW nuclear reactors are also set for closure by 2019 and 2022 respectively.
Last year, Germany approved new regulation opening its wind and solar tenders to neighboring states setting aside some 300 MW per year for projects abroad receiving German subsidies.
French state-owned utility 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 government plans to reduce the country's dependency on nuclear.
Currently, France has around 8 GW of solar installed, lagging behind Germany, Italy and the UK in capacity terms, according to Platts Renewable Power tracker.
The government targets some 20 GW of solar installed by 2023 and has launched a tender program, with subsidized costs in the latest round in February falling to Eur61/MWh.
Former French energy minister Segolene Royal had suggested in 2016 to Tesla founder Elon Musk converting Fessenheim into an electric car factory, according to French media reports.
