France is saying "non" to Chinese photovoltaic components through a mix of protectionism and cybersecurity requirements as it readies a government-backed program of new solar energy projects.
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President Emmanuel Macron's government set out a timeline for a solar procurement effort late last week, a couple of months after publishing a 10-year energy-transition roadmap called PP3, which envisions 1.2 gigawatts of new solar capacity. Companies will be able to bid for small and ground-mounted solar projects this coming July, and for other industrial installations in the fall. As is the French way, there's a strong preference for French companies.
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The government said its chief objective with small solar installations is to encourage citizens to go electric wherever possible, a change in power generation that should also shield them from wild swings in energy prices. For larger projects, the aim is more explicitly to onshore panel production and break free from China's grip on the market. The government said more than 80% of key photovoltaic components currently come from China.
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Lithuania effectively banned Chinese inverters from its solar and wind installations in 2024 due to fears over remote access. Reuters reported in May 2025 that U.S. energy experts found undocumented communication devices in some China-made inverters, which could allow those devices to communicate back home in a way that bypasses the utility-company firewalls meant to prevent such things.
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The EU's executive body signaled that it was listening in a December communication on "strengthening EU economic security," where it highlighted solar inverters as a prime example of a critical infrastructure risk. It suggested that the devices could prove to be vectors for "manipulating electricity production parameters, preventing electricity production, [and] access to operational data."
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France has initiated a 12 GW renewable energy auction initiative that emphasizes projects utilizing a greater proportion of European-manufactured technology, aiming to strengthen Europeโs energy autonomy. The nation also announced plans to implement cybersecurity standards in future auctions.
The 12 GW renewable auction initiative includes seven offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of 10 GW, in addition to 1.2 GW of solar energy and 0.8 GW from onshore wind sources.
The "resilience criterion" is designed to prioritize a higher proportion of European-sourced components to lessen dependence on imports, especially from China.
The bidding guidelines limit components sourced from China.
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said so.