French ecology ministry has approved 1,700 megawatts (MW) of new renewables capacity, along with other measures to support the sector amid the coronavirus crisis.

Minister Elisabeth Borne said Wednesday nearly 300 winning wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) projects have been cleared following a tender process, Kallanish Energy reports.

A total of 288 projects were granted, being 35 of them onshore wind and the remaining solar projects. Wind turbines will generate 749.3 MW of the planned new capacity. Together, these plants will produce 2.6 terawatt hour of electricity per year.

The average price reached for onshore wind was €62.9 per megawatt hour (MWh).

Prices for energy produced by the solar farms vary by project and technology adopted. Ground solar PV projects reached an average price of €62.11/MWh, while the so-called innovative PV solar price was €82.9/MWh. The most expensive average price was for solar PV with storage projects in overseas territories at €108.2/MWh.

“The health crisis we are going through must not in any way make us give up the ambitious objectives in terms of development of renewable energies,” Borne told developers in a video conference.

She added in a statement that due to the pandemic, renewables developers are facing difficulties in finalizing projects under construction and launching new projects.

To support the sector, the minister extended the deadline for commissioning of projects in order not to penalize delays related to the crisis; will maintain purchase prices for small roof solar photovoltaic projects frozen for three months; and has delayed future tenders.

This post appeared first on Kallanish Energy News.