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Pursuant to the French law on energy transition for green growth, Ordinance no. 2016-1019 of July 27, 2016 filled the gap in the Energy Code's legal framework for self-consumption of electricity.
Today we're focusing on these operations!
Self-consumption
An individual self-consumption operation consists in a producer consuming all or part of the electricity produced by his installation (e.g. photovoltaic, wind turbine) on the same site.
This self-consumption can be total or partial:
- If production is low, the electricity produced is consumed by the site, and the interested party will have to turn to the public grids to supplement its consumption.
- If production exceeds requirements, the surplus will be injected into public networks.
Individual self-consumption can also involve charging infrastructures for electric and hybrid vehicles.
Collective self-consumption
A self-consumption operation is collective when electricity is supplied between one or more producers and one or more final consumers linked together within a legal entity, and whose extraction and injection points are located downstream of the same public medium-to-low-voltage electricity transformer substation. As set-ups are fairly free, it is possible for associations or cooperatives to participate.
The conditions of application of this system have been clarified. They include :
- Frame this operation within a contract between the public distribution network operator concerned and the legal entity organizing the operation.
- And set at 3 kW the maximum installed power of facilities required to feed surplus electricity into the grid, if not sold to a third party.
Extended collective self-consumption
The French Energy Code allows for collective self-consumption operations with more distant participants. However, the following criteria must be met:
- They are connected to the low-voltage network of a single public electricity distribution system operator,
- and the distance separating the two furthest participants does not exceed two kilometers.
On request, the Minister responsible for energy may grant an exemption from this distance, up to a limit of twenty kilometers, taking into account in particular the remoteness of the location and its low population density.
The cumulative capacity of the generating facilities is less than :
- 3 MW in mainland France ;
- 0.5 MW in non-interconnected areas.
*For solar energy, the power considered is the peak power.
When it comes to feeding surplus electricity back into the grid, there are two support schemes for remunerating producers: the feed-in tariff and the additional remuneration scheme. The latter are awarded via the "guichet ouvert" (tariff level defined in tariff decrees) or through calls for tender (see link at end of article).
Obligation d'achat and complément de rémunération
Obligation
The "obligation d'achat" is a support scheme that involves the purchase of electricity produced by an approved supplier, independently of the wholesale electricity market price. It applies, for example, to photovoltaic panel installations with an installed capacity ≤ 500 kWp. To benefit from the obligation to purchase the electricity they produce, operators must apply to EDF or the local distribution company. Contracts are fixed for 15 to 20 years. With a few exceptions, it is only possible to benefit from a feed-in tariff contract once.
For power generation facilities with an installed capacity of no more than 3kW, surplus electricity is not subject to the feed-in tariff. It is sold free of charge to the grid operator to which the generating facility is connected. These injections are then allocated to the technical losses of this network (L. 315-5 and D.315-10).
Additional remuneration :
The remuneration supplement is a premium paid to a renewable energy producer to supplement the market sale of the electricity it has produced. Interested producers apply to EDF, which is obliged to sign a contract offering additional remuneration (for facilities located in mainland France).
It concerns the largest producers of renewable electricity (≥ 500kW), and contracts are fixed for a period not exceeding 20 years. Except in the case of special derogations, renewable energy production facilities can only benefit from additional remuneration once.
Main tariff decrees allowing preferential buy-back conditions for the energy produced:
These decrees, as well as the purchasing contract models, can be consulted on the website of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion.
Aids :
A self-consumption premium is defined by the tariff order of October 6, 2021, for installations of less than 100kWp selling with surplus injection. Application for the self-consumption bonus is made automatically when the photovoltaic installation is connected to the distribution grid.
Installations of less than 3kW benefit from tax breaks.
Regional aid may also be available. For photovoltaic development in particular, an associative platform supported by ADEME and the government has been developed (see link at end of article).
However, apart from specific operations in the household or agricultural sectors, most projects are not eligible for CEE.
Main administrative procedures for photovoltaic installations :
- Déclaration préalable de travaux : cette démarche est obligatoire pour les installations au sol de puissance comprise entre 3kWc et 250kWc situés en dehors d’une zone protégée (ou < 3kWc dans une zone protégée). Elle est également obligatoire pour toute installation en toiture.
- Application for planning permission: This is compulsory for ground-mounted systems with a capacity of over 250kWp located outside a protected area, or over 3kWp in a protected area.
- Connection request: if surplus production is resold, a connection request must be submitted to the grid operator.
- Consuel certificate: This certificate validates the conformity of your installation before connection to the electricity grid.
And even if you don't need planning permission, it's a good idea to check local regulations, such as the Plan Local d'Urbanisme and the Plan d'Occupation des Sols.
Under the French Environment Code, other procedures must be taken into account. In addition to rooftop installations and parking lot shading systems, the following are subject to approval:
- Environmental assessment, installations with a capacity equal to or greater than 1MWp, with the exception of shaded installations;
- Examination on a case-by-case basis, plants with a capacity of 300kWp or more;
To find out more :
- Site du Ministère de la Transition écologique : Home | Ministère de la Transition écologique et de la Cohésion des territoires - https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/
- Government- and ADEME-supported association for the development of photovoltaics: https: //www.photovoltaique.info
- Several CRE calls for tenders have been launched for self-consumption installations to encourage their development: Call for tenders for the construction and operation of self-consumption electricity generation facilities based on renewable energies and located in mainland France | CRE - https://www.cre.fr/
- ADEME bookshop: Photovoltaic self-consumption: how to produce electricity and consume it at home? - ADEME bookshop - https://librairie.ademe.fr/
- Guide du CSTB sur l'installation de systèmes photovoltaïques en toiture (January 2024) : - https://www.ecocites.logement.gouv.fr/
- Incubation of lab2051 for collective self-consumption (June 2022): - https://www.ecocites.logement.gouv.fr/
Photo credit: 648812482 @Sasint