France has installed 803 MW of solar capacity in the third quarter (Q3) of 2023, compared to 699 MW installed in the same period last year, a 14.88% increase.

The country’s total installed solar capacity was 19 GW as of September 30, 2023, with 18.3 GW in mainland France.

The country added 2.2 GW of new solar capacity in the first nine months (9M) of 2023 compared to 1.9 GW in the same period last year.

The numbers were revealed by France’s Ministry of Energy Transition in a recent report.

The country recorded 19.4 TWh of solar power generation during the January- September period, an increase of 18.7% year-over-year (YoY). Solar accounted for 5.7% of the total electricity consumption.

The regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and Pays de la Loire played a significant role in expanding solar installations during 9M 2023. Collectively, these regions accounted for 68% of the newly connected capacity in the country.

Approximately 36% of the generated solar power in the January -September period came from new installations exceeding 250 kW despite representing only 0.2% of the total number of new connections. Installations of smaller capacities, specifically those below 9 kW, constituted 94% of the newly connected units, contributing to 25% of the new power capacity.

The pipeline projects’ capacity grew significantly, rising by 27% since the beginning of the year to reach 21.4 GW. Among these projects, 5.4 GW has already secured a signed connection agreement.

The report said 45.4% of the solar installations were from captive power projects, a 2.3% increase from the previous quarter. Captive project installations generated 388 GWh, representing 4.7% of the total photovoltaic production for the quarter.

In August, France’s Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition announced the list of successful bidders for the fifth round of auctions for commercial and industrial rooftop solar projects of capacities higher than 500 kW for a total capacity of 378 MW. The average price quoted by the 60 winners in the auction was €0.1019 (~$0.1102)/kWh.

The European Parliament and the Council have provisionally agreed to raise the European Union’s binding renewable target to a minimum of 42.5% by 2030, up from 32%. It would mean doubling the existing share of renewables in the EU.