Yingli Green Energy announced that the company’s subsidies in China and France have agreed to cooperate with a leading French PV module manufacturer to manufacture co-branded products for that company that has won large volume tenders under the French National Tender Program.
Under the terms of the partnership, the French partner has agreed to manufacture PV modules in France using Yingli Solar’s polycrystalline cells with optimized carbon footprint technology.
The projects under the French National Tender Program are expected to be installed within the next 24 months. Modules from the partnership represent 185 MW out of the 380 MW in total, the company said.
“Roughly 50 percent of the projects in the recent rounds of public tenders under French National Tender Program are expected to use locally made modules powered by cells supplied by Yingli,” said Arnaud Catrice, managing director of Yingli France, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yingli Green Energy.
“This clearly demonstrates that project developers trust this alliance will have a long-term positive impact on the French PV industry,” Catrice said. “The partnership will not only reinforce our leading positions in French market, but also contribute for a promising local solar industry in a long run.”
The national tender system in France is applied for solar projects with installation capacity above 250 kW. The project developers or owners are required to enter a national solar tendering program, French National Tender Program, held by the Commission de Regulation de l’energie, or Energy Regulation Commission (CRE).
A total of up to 400 MWs of solar projects have been selected following a ranking method based on, among other criteria, the purchase price of electricity to be produced, the project’s carbon footprint, and its share of and contribution to innovative research and development.