The French Energy Ministry announced on Monday that the government will launch a tender for for a total of 50 megawatt (MW) per year for three years and a tender for biogas-fired plants for 10 MW per year for three years, the energy ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The tenders – which will close by Aug. 8 with project selection before the year-end – will be open to wood-fired biomass plants with capacities below 25 MW and biogas plants with capacities below 5 MW. One fifth of the biomass tender will be reserved for projects smaller than 3 MW.
Bidders will have to propose wood-fired cogeneration plants with an energy efficiency level of at least 75 percent and will have to source wood from sustainable forestry. Biogas installations should not use food crops and projects using animal manure will be favoured.
Despite the strong investments by the government environment agency ADEME’s “Fonds Chaleur” in renewable heating projects, France, which got more than 76 percent of its electricity from nuclear plants in 2015 – is way behind Germany and Nordic countries in its use of biogas and biomass such as wood or agricultural waste products.
Last year, just 1.4 percent of the power produced came from bio-energies, according to data from grid operator RTE.
