The government’s electrification plan, presented last week, includes a goal to double heat pump deployment in France by 2030, potentially benefiting the residential photovoltaic sector.
From pv magazine France
Unveiled last Friday by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, France’s electrification plan places heat pumps at its core, with the aim of permanently phasing out gas boilers in new housing.
The government targets the installation of one million units per year in French homes by 2030, with the objective of cutting heating costs by half. The same direction applies to multi-family buildings, with the ambition of eliminating gas and fuel oil heating by 2050.
To support this rollout, the government has initially planned to earmark €200 million ($235.6 million).
In an interview with Le Parisien published last Friday, Maud Bregeon, Minister Delegate for Energy, proposed a leasing scheme for heat pumps. This financing model would be combined with enhanced support under the MaPrimeRénov’ programme and energy savings certificates. “The increase in subsidies, capped between €12,000 and €14,000, could reach €2,000 to guarantee a return on investment within three years,” she said on Saturday on France Inter, noting that a heat pump “costs between €10,000 and €15,000.”
Jules Nyssen, president of French renewable energy association SER, welcomed the government’s proposal on LinkedIn, describing electrification as “the primary instrument of its energy sovereignty, in a country where electricity is abundant, decarbonised, and much cheaper than elsewhere in Europe.” He also called for “the development of all sources of electricity production, from the short term to the long term, without neglecting any sector.”
In this context, photovoltaics could play a key role in the government’s housing electrification strategy, which is primarily centred on heat pumps. Combined, solar PV and heat pumps form a complementary pairing. By increasing on-site energy use, the combination can significantly reduce electricity bills, with savings partially offsetting the initial investment.
This is further supported by emerging energy storage solutions, which, according to the Lévy-Tuot report, could benefit from a reduced VAT rate of 5.5% and access to zero-interest loans.
While France’s High Council for Energy (CSE) is currently reviewing a draft decree that could suspend subsidies for solar investments, heat pumps – now strongly supported through public funding – could offer a lifeline for residential photovoltaics.
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