RPT-FEATURE-French farmer is new sun king

* Incentives spark boom in integrated photovoltaic in France

* Reflect new French ambitions in solar power

* Economies of scale key to bank funding

* Projects supplement volatile farm incomes

By Gus Trompiz

WEINBOURG, France, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Bright winter sun dissolves a blanket of snow on barn roofs to reveal a bold new sideline for Jean-Luc Westphal: besides producing eggs and grains, he is to generate solar power for thousands of homes.

Economic crisis has cast doubt on funding hopes for many big renewable energy projects, but the giant panels built into roofs on this sloping farm at the foot of the Vosges hills in eastern France are attracting attention from farmers to financiers.

Westphal is one of a small but growing band of farmers in the European Union's biggest agricultural producer who are taking up new incentives for solar power to supplement farm incomes as well as help France meet renewable energy targets.

"We're trying to go a bit beyond agriculture to earn our living in a different way," said Jean-Luc Leonhart, an old classmate of Westphal's visiting his friend's project with a view to installing solar panels on his own farm.