France added 1,442 MW of solar capacity in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, a 34.76% year-over-year increase from 1,070 MW, according to the country’s Ministry of Energy Transition.

Solar installations during the quarter were also the highest for any Q1 since 2010.

In Q1 2025, the highest solar capacity additions came from projects sized between 100 kW and 250 kW, totaling 624 MW. Projects above 500 kW contributed the second-highest additions with 395 MW, followed by 165 MW from systems ranging between 3 kW and 9 kW.

France’s cumulative installed solar capacity has reached 26.8 GW.

Electricity production from solar projects reached 5.4 TWh in Q1 2025, up 40% YoY from 3.9 TWh.

Approximately 3.8% of the electricity consumed in France was generated from solar energy, representing a 1% increase from Q1 2024.

In Q1 2025, 334 GWh of solar power was for captive consumption, representing 6.2% of the quarter’s solar energy generation.

The capacity of projects in the pipeline grew 7% year-over-year to 34.4 GW, including 8.6 GW under signed grid connection agreements.

In Q1 2025, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions accounted for 45% of solar capacity additions.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes saw 238 MW solar projects installed, followed by Nouvelle-Aquitaine (227 MW) and Occitanie (187 MW).

France added 3.5 GW of solar capacity in the first nine months of 2024, a 52.2% increase from 2.3 GW during the same period of 2023. At the end of September 2024, the country’s cumulative solar capacity reached 23.7 GW, including 22.9 GW in mainland France.

The country’s solar photovoltaic capacity reached a new milestone of 20 GW at the end of 2023, a 19% increase over 2022 levels. Throughout 2023, an additional 3.2 GW of solar power was connected to the grid, outpacing the 2.7 GW added in the previous year.