France adds 2.2 GW of fresh solar in Jan-Sept

France put on stream 2,230 MW of solar parks in the first nine months of 2023 and brought its cumulative grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) capacity to 18,988 MW, according to the latest government statistics.

The first three quarters of the year saw the commissioning of 157,429 plants, as compared to 68,967 installations with a combined capacity of 1,922 MW brought online in the year-ago period. The new additions represent an 16.02% increase in annual terms, shows data provided by the French energy ministry’s Department of Data and Statistical Studies (SDES).

By size, 94% of the new plants that were hooked to the grid had individual capacities of less than 9 kW, while 36% of the systems were larger than 250 kW. The regions of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, and Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, and Grand Est accounted for 68% of all newly connected capacity in the first three quarters.

France’s PV parks produced 19.4 TWh of electricity in January-September, up from 16.4 TWh a year back, with photovoltaics supplying 5.7% of the national power consumption.

The country’s pipeline of solar projects stood at 21.4 GW at the end of September, including 5.4 GW with grid-connection contracts in place.

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