France GHI Solar-resource-map GlobalSolarAtlas World-Bank-Esmap-Solargis

Solar power in France including overseas territories reached an installed capacity figure of 11.2 GW by the end of 2020. The solar power capacity is set to continue expanding with a target of around 18–20 GW installed by 2023. However, wavering political support for new installations slowed PV deployment since the record year of 2011, when 1,700 MW had been installed. However, the sector appears to have recovered its previous pace, with nearly 1,400 MW coming on line in the first half of 2021. In January 2016, the President of France,

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

, and the Prime Minister of India,

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

, laid the foundation stone for the headquarters of the

International Solar Alliance The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an alliance of 123 signatory countries, most being sunshine countries, which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The primary objective of the allia ...

(ISA) in Gwalpahari, Gurgaon, India. The ISA will focus on promoting and developing solar energy and solar products for countries lying wholly or partially between the

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward ...

and the

Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...

. The alliance of over 120 countries was announced at the Paris COP21 climate summit. One of the hopes of the ISA is that wider deployment will reduce production and development costs, and thus facilitate increased deployment of solar technologies, including in poor and remote regions.

History

Solar PV installations in France started being substantial only from around 2008. Between 2009 and 2011 PV capacity grew almost tenfold, from a relatively low level. In its 2014 report "Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics", the

European Photovoltaic Industry Association European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

(EPIA) not only blames the French government for a lack of support, but also criticizes it for having "hastily freeze or reduce support mechanisms" for further photovoltaic deployment. The EPIA also asserts that opposition from the conventional energy sector led to a negative image of PV technology in the public opinion. The French solar association SOLER urged the French government for more support and submitted a five-point plan in Spring 2014. Solar power in France continued growing steadily and reached a cumulative photovoltaic capacity of 6.6 GW by the end of 2015, producing 6.7 TWh of electricity during the year. In 2015

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

was the country with the seventh largest solar PV installed capacity in the world. Around 903 MW of new installations were added during the year. In 2016, France was ranked 4th in the EU by installed capacity and 14th in terms of PV capacity by inhabitant at 107.3 Wp/Inhab compared to the EU average of 197.8 Wp/Inhab for the year. The country's largest completed solar park to date was the 300 MW Cestas Solar Park. Approximately 560 MW of new installations were added during the year. In 2018, the state-owned company

EDF EDF may refer to: Organisations * Eclaireurs de France, a French Scouting association * Education for Development Foundation, a Thai charity * Électricité de France, a French energy company ** EDF Energy, their British subsidiary ** EDF Luminus, ...

had plans to invest up to €25 billion in PV power generation, and introduce green electricity tariffs; the plan is projected to "develop 30 gigawatt of solar capacity in France between 2020 and 2035". Similarly, Total, the giant French oil and gas company, moved in 2021 toward more significant investment in solar with the purchase of a 20% stake in Adani Green Energy, one of the world's largest solar developers.

Insolation

The

insolation Solar irradiance is the power per unit area (surface power density) received from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the measuring instrument. Solar irradiance is measured in watts per square metre (W/m ...

in France ranges from 3 sun hours/day in the north to 5 sun hours/day in the south. The output of a solar array is a function of age, temperature, tilt, shading, tracking, and insolation.

Photovoltaic installations

Cumulative PV capacity in megawatt-peak (MW_p) since 2000

Solar PV market by segment

Residential solar PV capacity

According to a report on behalf of the European Commission by 2020 France would have an estimated 1,484 MW of residential solar PV capacity with 458,000 residential solar PV prosumers in the country representing 1.6% of households. The average size of residential solar PV systems is estimated to be 3.24 kW moving to 2030. The technical potential for residential solar PV in France is estimated at 34,810 MW. The payback time for residential Solar PV in France is 25.1 years as of 2015. Some of the advantages of small scale residential Solar include eliminating the need for extra land, keeping cost saving advantages in local communities and empowering households to become prosumers of renewable electricity and thus raising awareness of wasteful consumption habits and environmental issues through direct experience.

Large photovoltaic power stations

A 17 MW

floating solar Floating solar or floating photovoltaics (FPV), sometimes called floatovoltaics, is solar panels mounted on a structure that floats on a body of water, typically a reservoir or a lake. The market for this renewable energy technology has grown rap ...

plant was installed at Piolenc near the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

river in 2019.

List of owners of photovoltaic portfolios in France (2014)Solarplaza: Top 20 PV portfolios in Europe: Who owns what? 18 Sept 2014
/ref>

Notes

References

External links

Les Mees M7
6.23 MW
Les Mees M45
11 MW {{Renewable energy by country