France to Open Grid Access for Solar-Storage Plants Beyond the 17 MW Cap

France is preparing to ease network connection rules for solar projects paired with battery storage, allowing facilities that generate well beyond the existing threshold to connect — provided they never export more than 17 megawatts at once. Government spokesperson Maud Brejon announced the change, expected before the end of 2026, as reported by PV Magazine.

Under current rules, solar plants face a hard 17 MW connection ceiling. The incoming exception would permit developers to build generation assets reaching 25 MW of total output potential, so long as on-site batteries absorb whatever surplus pushes output above that limit. The intent is to incentivise storage investment rather than burden grid infrastructure with unconstrained peaks.

Energy regulator CRE is simultaneously crafting commercial proposals to shift consumption toward hours of maximum solar generation.

Private capital is already moving in this direction. NW Group has committed €1 billion through 2030 to grow its flexibility platform by 1.5 GW, while developer Neoen is targeting close to 1 GW of industrial battery deployment.

The solar-storage rule is one piece of a wider national flexibility roadmap. Other elements include mandatory smart controls for heat pumps from 2027, an EDF programme to connect five million smart appliances, a 6 GW managed-load target coordinated by industrial association Gimelec, and Octopus Energy’s plan to integrate 5–6 GW of flexible capacity by 2030.

Source: PV Magazine