France’s proposed 2026 budget would double the flat-rate grid tax for solar power plants over 100 kW commissioned before 2021, drawing resistance from investors and PV industry groups.
France’s 2026 draft budget includes a proposal to double the flat-rate tax on network companies (IFER) applied to PV installations commissioned before January 2021. The measure would increase the tax from €8.51 ($9.89)/kW to €16.05/kW for systems of 100 kW or larger, excluding self-consumption projects.
The government said the increase is intended to offset the higher costs of public support for renewable energy, amid falling electricity capture prices. The revenues would flow into the general state budget and are expected to generate an additional €50 million annually for three years, totaling €150 million.
Solar projects commissioned after January 2021 would remain subject to the lower rate of €3,542/kW to maintain investment incentives in new solar capacity.
Article 69 of the same bill also proposes to abolish the limit on negative premiums for renewable energy contracts and to revise tariffs for some photovoltaic producers. The change would replace an existing limit set in the Finance Act 2024.
Under France’s current support scheme, producers of major renewable energy projects receive additional compensation when market prices fall below guaranteed rates. When prices exceed tariff levels, producers must pay the difference back to the state. However, contracts signed between 2016 and 2019 limit these reimbursements, limiting state revenues during periods of high prices.
“Retroactivity undermines the government’s commitment,” said Arnaud Gossement, a lawyer and associate professor at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. “These measures have sometimes been developed very discreetly and without consultation with industry representatives. This is further evidence that energy is being managed within government as a strictly economic issue and no longer as an ecological issue in the broadest sense of the word.”
Jules Nyssen, president of the sustainable energy association Syndicat des énergies renouvelables, warned that the policy would “destroy the return on invested capital” and drive away investors. “France will be completely out of step with its European neighbors and the global solar energy trend,” Nyssen said.
Photosol, a French developer, said in a statement that the retroactive measures “undermine the credibility of the government, destroy project value and destabilize the tax framework.” The company added that investor confidence could collapse, raising financing costs and threatening jobs across the sector.
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