France deployed 2,687MW of new solar capacity in 2020, thus achieving its best performance ever recorded in terms of new installations.
For comparison, the country installed 973MW in 2020, 883MW in 2018, and 890MW in 2017.
According to new figures released by French renewable energy association SER, the fourth quarter was particularly dynamic, with around 761MW of new PV systems connected to the grid.
As of the end of December 2021, France had reached a cumulative installed PV capacity of 13,067MW.
The SER also reported that the electricity produced by PV arrays in France reached nearly 14.3TWh in 2021, an increase of 12.6% compared to the previous year. The Nouvelle-Aquitaine region was the most productive, with 3.8TWh, ahead of Occitanie and the Provence Alpes-Côte d’Azur region (with, respectively, 3TWh and 2.1TWh).
Solar reached, for the first time, in 2021, a 3% share in total electricity consumption, which compares to 2.8% in 2020. From June to August 2021, record levels of more than 5% were recorded.
