VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL, France (Reuters) - France unveiled on Monday emergency measures to double the annual solar power production capacity target to 1,000 megawatts (MW) and bring additional financial support for small photovoltaic farms using made-in-Europe solar panels, the energy minister said.
French Energy Minister Delphine Batho announced the measures, which are expected to spur investments worth over 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), during the visit of MPO, a small solar panel factory in Western France.
The Socialist government is seeking to rescue an industry which has lost about 15,000 jobs in the last two years, after the previous conservative government tried to dampen a speculative bubble in solar power installations.
