French farmers are lamenting what seems to be the end of the honeymoon period for solar energy farming in the country after a government scheme, hitherto touted as the farmers’ ‘Eldorado,’ has ground to a halt. The uptake of solar farming in France has proven too successful and the government has called a complete moratorium on new projects for the foreseeable future.

Selling electricity produced by solar panels could help numerous farmers who struggle here, as elsewhere in Europe, to cope with low farmgate prices and rising raw materials costs. Therefore, many farmers began solar energy farming under the government scheme, installing PV (photovoltaic) panels on their land and generating renewable energy. However, the recent change in buyback tariffs imposed by the government has completely halted their operations and consequently their hopes of subsidising their farming.

It was, perhaps, too good to be true. Jean-Louis Bissières, a livestock farmer from Lot-et-Garonne in the South-West invested in 600 m2 of PV panel, which he installed on the roofs of his sheds. Bissières thought his panels would pay for themselves in 15 years, his electricity bill would fall and he would be able to sell his surplus electricity under the government buyback scheme.   

However, this was before the government moratorium on solar contracts. All pending contracts have now been suspended; M. Bissières was lucky. Nowadays in France, installing solar panels has become much less of an enticing prospect. The panels are expensive and there is no longer a guaranteed buyback scheme.  

The government was frightened by the success of energy farming in the agricultural world. Towards the end of last year the French government announced a suspension of all new contracts and pending cases. Since March the fate of energy farmers, victims of the scheme’s success, has been publicised in France; the buyback tariffs have been drastically reduced and there is no longer any certainty as to their duration.

Several agricultural unions have accused large energy companies of uncompetitive practices, alleging larger energy companies had a hand in the decree halting new schemes. Nevertheless, in Germany a similar scheme seems to be running smoothly. The scheme has even enabled Germany to remain competitive with countries where labour is cheaper. Now French farmers are attempting to convince the government to backtrack on last year’s legislation, however hopes of success are not high.