France has added 3.5 GW of solar capacity during the first nine months (9M) of 2024, marking a 52.2% increase compared to 2.3 GW in the same period of 2023.

By the end of September 2024, the country’s total solar capacity reached 23.7 GW, with 22.9 GW of that located in mainland France.

In Q3 2024 alone, France saw an addition of 1,357 MW of solar power, reflecting a 66.3% year-over-year (YoY) increase from 816 MW in Q3 2023. This also represents a 19.9% rise compared to the 1,131 MW added in Q2 2024. However, these figures are provisional and are expected to be adjusted in the upcoming quarters.

Notably, about 34% of the new installations in 2024 consisted of systems larger than 500 kW, while smaller systems under 9 kW accounted for 20% of the new capacity. A total of 193,386 new solar installations were completed in 9M 2024, compared to 159,444 during the same period in 2023.

The solar project pipeline in France has seen a remarkable 68% increase since the last quarter of 2023, now standing at 37.6 GW, with 11.2 GW of that already having signed connection agreements.

The regions of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes were responsible for 48% of the new solar capacity in the country. These areas also lead in total installed solar power, accounting for 52% of France's total capacity by the end of Q3 2024.

Self-consumption of solar energy continues to rise, with 56.4% of new photovoltaic systems (which represent 13.8% of the installed capacity) being partially or fully self-consumed. This represents a 2.8% increase compared to the previous quarter. In Q3 2024, 579 GWh of solar energy was self-consumed, accounting for 6.4% of the quarter’s solar generation. Among this, installations with full self-consumption made up 23% of the total self-consumed energy.

Looking ahead, France aims to expand its solar capacity to between 35 GW and 44 GW by 2028, in line with its new energy policy goals.

In the first quarter of 2024, the country added 1 GW of solar photovoltaic capacity, a 66% increase over the same period last year, bringing the total to 21.1 GW. At the end of 2023, France’s solar photovoltaic capacity reached 20 GW, marking a 19% increase from the previous year. In total, 3.2 GW of solar capacity was added to the grid in 2023, outpacing the 2.7 GW added in 2022.