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France: Solar Heating and Cooling Development Programme

Submitted by Baerbel Epp on Wed, 02/17/2010 - 19:47.

A number of 15 to 30 well-performing solar heating and cooling systems is expected to be subsidized due to the new Solar Heating and Cooling Development Programme in France. After one year of preparations, the programme was launched in January 2010 and will end in June 2012. 

Country / region  France
Name of programme  French Solar Heating and Cooling Development Programme
Type of incentive  Grants
Eligible technologies  Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Systems with a nominal solar cooling power between 5 and 200 kW 
Applicable sectors  Priority target group:
·         Tertiary buildings
·         Large buildings
·         Industry
·         Agriculture and food processing
Maximum incentive for the feasibility study   50 to 70 % of the fees for the feasibility study – depending on the region concerned (maximum rate is decided for each case separately).
A check list containing 20 questions of the project's features is handed out prior to the feasibility study (minimum score has to be reached)   
Maximum incentive for the investment costs of the system  The investment incentives are paid at the beginning of the project and based on the useable energy output per year, as planned within the feasibility study. For example: 35,000 EUR per Ton Oil Equivalent (TOE) equivalent to 11,628 kWh, a typical annual solar energy production. The average amount of subsidy per kWh over 20 years is then nearly 0.15 €/kWh.

The total amount of incentive is limited by European maximum grant levels for renewable energy demo projects, which depend on the target group:
·         Large companies: 60 % 
·         Small and Medium enterprises (SEM): 70 %
·         Public structures and very small enterprises: 80 %

Maximum incentive for monitoring  100 % of monitoring material is covered, albeit only up to EUR 10,00050 % of the monitoring work in the first two years in covered, albeit only up to EUR 15,000 
Requirements for system 
  • The minimum of usable energy output (all over in France) is to be 450 kWh/m2 and year, including:
    Heating: useable kWh from the storage tank and without back up
    Cooling: useable cooling kWh produced by evaporator, divided by a ratio of 0.6 for absorption chillers and 0.4 for adsorption chillers. Possibility to extend to double sorption chillers with value of 1.
     
  • Minimum electric annual efficiency : 5
    Calculated value of efficiency during an entire year of monitoring and equal to the ratio between useable heating and cooling kWh (see above) and the overall electric consumption per year by auxiliaries used in the solar system (except distribution pump and back up).
Requirements for installation Engineering company: a minimum of 2 references related to large solar thermal installations of more than 30 m², as well as a French OPQIBI certification
Finance provider  Ademe, in cooperation with the regional administrations
Total funds  Granted for 15 to 30 installations during a 3-year period: 3 to 6 systems in 2010 and 5 to 10 in each 2011 and 2012
Funding source  Public funds
Effective date  January 2010 (after 12 months of preparation)
Expiration date  June 2012
Website  www.solaire-collectif.fr/index.php?pid=7
(only a French version is available at the moment)
Last review of this tabloid  February 2010
Contact Enerplan
Valérie Laplagne
valerie.laplagne@enerplan.asso.fr
www.enerplan.asso.fr
www.solaire-collectif.fr

 

Effective Date: 
January 1, 2010
Incentive Program: 
France: Solar Heating and Cooling Development Programme
Contact: 
Enerplan