New Compensatory Fee Regime To Replace (Partially) Feed-In Tariffs Applicable To Renewable Energies

In late May 2016, the French Environment Ministry adopted several new Decrees implementing a new regime to transition the support for renewable energy from feed-in tariffs to a compensatory fee scheme. Such transition was required by the European Commission, which considers feed-in tariffs as State aids and requests a more stringent review of such aids.
 
The Decrees have been adopted in accordance with Article 104 of Law of August 17, 2015, on the Energy Transition, which required the energy produced by renewable energies (e.g., solar, biomass, hydropower) to replace feed-in tariffs with a compensatory fee. The compensatory fee replaces the feed-in tariff regime for some renewable installations. This new mechanism aims at improving the integration of renewable energies to the electricity market, as required by the European Commission. The principle of this new scheme is to allow a producer to sell its electricity directly on the market, while limiting the risks