The French energy regulator Commission de Régulation de l’Énergie (CRE) has published a detailed contribution outlining 25 recommendations to optimise public support for renewable energy and electricity storage, as part of a government mission led by Jean-Bernard Lévy and Thierry Tuot on the future of renewable energy support schemes.

The document, titled “Contribution de la CRE dans le cadre de la mission menée par MM. Lévy et Tuot sur le soutien public aux énergies renouvelables et au stockage d’électricité”, sets out proposals aimed at improving economic efficiency, reducing public costs, and adapting support mechanisms to the growing maturity of renewable technologies.

The intervention comes at a time of increasing scrutiny over the cost of renewable subsidies in France and broader concerns over system integration, intermittency management, and grid constraints.

Efficiency, competition and system value at the core

The CRE stresses that renewable energy sources (RES) remain essential to the decarbonisation of the French power system and its future resilience, noting their role alongside nuclear generation. However, it argues that support schemes must evolve to become “more efficient, more sustainable, and better shared between public and private actors”.

The regulator emphasises that current system conditions include temporary overcapacity, which it describes as providing security margins and contributing to lower wholesale electricity prices. Nonetheless, it warns that short-term decisions must not undermine medium- and long-term system performance.

A central theme of the report is the need to move away from purely budget-based assessments of public support towards a broader concept of system-wide economic efficiency, including grid impacts and actual delivered energy value.

Recommendations structured around four pillars

The CRE structures its proposals around four main areas: onshore renewables, system-based project selection, offshore wind development, and grid access optimisation.

1. Increasing competition in mature renewable markets

For onshore renewables, the regulator recommends strengthening competitive pressure in auctions and adjusting support mechanisms to market maturity.

Key proposals include:

• Regular adjustment of auction price caps in line with economic conditions, including potential reductions for ground-mounted and rooftop solar.
• Reducing the number of auction rounds to increase competitive tension.
• Removing or increasing the 250 MW limit for agricultural land PV projects, identified as highly competitive.
• Revisiting height restrictions on onshore wind farms, which CRE argues are stricter than in other European countries.
• Promoting power purchase agreements (PPAs) for mature technologies, including possible mixed auction designs or exit penalties.

2. Selecting projects based on system value

The CRE proposes a shift in how projects are evaluated, focusing on their contribution to the electricity system rather than only their subsidy cost.

Among the measures:

• Reforming treatment of negative electricity price hours in support schemes, including a two-hour daily non-compensation threshold, to encourage hybrid PV-plus-storage projects.
• Using an unweighted monthly reference price (M0) in auctions.
• Introducing annual performance incentives to encourage generation during high-price periods.
• Reforming the S21 scheme to reduce support distortions in very small-scale PV.
• Extending curtailment incentives for installations during negative price periods.
• Introducing forward hedging of supported volumes to improve state budget predictability.

The CRE also recommends calculating efficiency based on “full costs per useful MWh”, excluding artificially supported output linked to negative price compensation mechanisms.

3. Offshore wind prioritisation and permitting reform

For offshore wind, the regulator calls for prioritising the most economically viable and technically mature projects before more complex developments.

It recommends:

• Favouring locations with lower installation and grid connection costs, particularly in the English Channel.
• Moderating the pace of floating offshore wind development while allowing technological progress.
• Launching simpler offshore wind auctions from 2026 onwards.
• Reforming permitting processes either by centralising pre-approvals with the state or adopting a UK-style model where developers secure permits before auction participation.
• Reducing cable length for grid connections to lower overall project costs.

4. Grid access and connection reform

The CRE highlights that while there is no major physical grid congestion, contractual and regulatory constraints are creating inefficiencies.

Proposed actions include:

Optimising grid sizing rules, in particular through:

• Aligning regional renewable energy targets with the PPE (national energy planning framework);
• Continuing the “optimal grid sizing” approach in transmission networks—based on point-by-point curtailment of renewable output—and extending it to distribution networks;
• Expanding active control of low-voltage photovoltaic installations above 36 kVA;

Reforming connection charging rules to avoid market distortions that favour low-voltage connections, including:

• Removing threshold effects in TURPE cost coverage for connection charges between low voltage (BT) and medium voltage (MV);
• Eliminating exemptions from S3REnR contributions for low-voltage installations above 36 kVA;
• Considering a potential reduction in renewable energy compensation levels;

Enabling more efficient grid connection and access for storage projects through technical and tariff adjustments, including:

• Allowing hybrid installations (solar PV + storage) above 17 MW to connect at medium voltage, provided they limit injected power;
• Developing connection frameworks with operational constraints for storage facilities;
• Designing grid tariffs that send appropriate signals to storage assets, encouraging system flexibility.

The CRE concludes that adapting renewable support mechanisms is necessary to ensure long-term system efficiency, reduce public expenditure, and improve integration of variable renewable generation. However, it also stresses that such reforms must preserve regulatory stability and investor confidence.

Industry reaction

Anne-Catherine de Tourtier, president of France Renewables, said that the report supports long-standing concerns from the sector about the regulatory framework in France, arguing that it structurally increases the cost of renewable electricity and the level of public support required. She described this as a paradox, since these constraints are themselves the result of public policy choices aimed at optimising support schemes.

She added that France Renewables has contributed significantly to the conclusions of the report and will continue to act as a proactive stakeholder in the debate, highlighting that the transformation of these frameworks represents a key priority and a potential source of savings estimated at nearly €2 billion per year.

She also stressed the broader context, stating that “in a context of volatility in imported fossil fuel prices and structural dependencies, it is essential to build, at the heart of the electrification strategy, a renewable electricity production model that is both competitive and attractive, while also ensuring our energy sovereignty.”