Renewable energy in France - statistics & facts
France is setting ambitious energy transition objectives to attain carbon neutrality by 2050. The country accounted for some of the largest energy transition investments worldwide in 2022 and was planning a joint development of renewables and nuclear power in the decades to come. Hydropower, wind, and solar are the primary sources of renewable energy in France.
However, despite being one of the top five producers of renewable energy in Europe in 2022, France missed its objective of deriving 23 percent of its gross final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020. In fact, the share of renewables in France's final energy consumption was still around 19 percent in 2021. France’s wind energy deployment was also lagging behind the targets set by the country in the Pluriannual Energy Programme in 2020. Even if the country’s first offshore wind power plant started operation in 2022, the offshore wind capacity was still significantly lower than the target of 2.4 gigawatts set for 2023. Similarly, onshore wind energy capacity at the end of 2022 was around 3.5 gigawatts below the target set for the end of 2023.
In 2023, the country passed the Renewable Energy Acceleration law to boost the growth of the renewable energy sector. The legislation includes measures to streamline the territorial planning and administrative procedures for the construction of new renewable energy projects, with a focus on solar thermal and photovoltaic energy and offshore wind power.
Projections showed solar photovoltaic as a candidate to take over hydropower’s position in the next five years. In fact, France planned to reach a solar capacity of 100 gigawatts by 2050. In 2022, the southern French regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alps, Occitania, Provence-Alps-Azure Coast, and New Aquitaine were the national leaders for both hydropower and photovoltaic installed capacity.
Renewable energy in France: a slow growth
Thanks to considerable investments in the energy transition sector, France’s renewable energy capacity has grown steadily over the past decade to reach over 65 gigawatts in 2022.However, despite being one of the top five producers of renewable energy in Europe in 2022, France missed its objective of deriving 23 percent of its gross final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020. In fact, the share of renewables in France's final energy consumption was still around 19 percent in 2021. France’s wind energy deployment was also lagging behind the targets set by the country in the Pluriannual Energy Programme in 2020. Even if the country’s first offshore wind power plant started operation in 2022, the offshore wind capacity was still significantly lower than the target of 2.4 gigawatts set for 2023. Similarly, onshore wind energy capacity at the end of 2022 was around 3.5 gigawatts below the target set for the end of 2023.
In 2023, the country passed the Renewable Energy Acceleration law to boost the growth of the renewable energy sector. The legislation includes measures to streamline the territorial planning and administrative procedures for the construction of new renewable energy projects, with a focus on solar thermal and photovoltaic energy and offshore wind power.
Hydro and solar power trends in France
With an electricity capacity of some 26 gigawatts, hydropower accounted for a 14 percent share of the primary energy production from renewable sources in France in 2022. The European hydropower market was threatened by a severe drought in the summer of 2022, causing a fall in France’s hydropower electricity output.Projections showed solar photovoltaic as a candidate to take over hydropower’s position in the next five years. In fact, France planned to reach a solar capacity of 100 gigawatts by 2050. In 2022, the southern French regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alps, Occitania, Provence-Alps-Azure Coast, and New Aquitaine were the national leaders for both hydropower and photovoltaic installed capacity.
