1. Decentralized generation development environment - history and trends

Until the 1990s, small-scale hydropower, located in very specific areas such as the Alps, Pyrenees, Massif Central and Vosges, was practically the only decentralized generation connected to French public distribution networks (RPD). The marginal-cost-based feed-in tariffs on which EDF (Électricité de France) based its general sales tariffs meant that feed-in costs were determined on the basis of sales costs, regardless of the type of generating facility.

The purchase price was therefore independent of the set-up and operating costs of the various types of production.