France’s installed solar capacity reached 34 GW during the first half (1H) of 2026, according to the country’s Statistical Data and Studies Department (SDES).

The country added 3 GW during the period, slightly higher than the 2.9 GW installed in the same period last year.

Gross electricity production from solar power sources in metropolitan France stood at 14.1 TWh in the second quarter (Q2) of 2026, up 18% from a year before. Excluding self-consumption, the figure represents 8.6% of the electricity consumed in metropolitan France during this period.

In 1H, installations with capacity above 500 kW accounted for 28% of the capacity added and 0.3% of all new connections. At 78%, systems with capacity under 9 kW, accounted for the lion’s share of new connections but contributed just 8% to the newly added capacity.

 As of June 30, 2026, the capacity of solar projects awaiting grid connections stood at 35.9 GW, down 1% compared to the last quarter of 2025. Of these, 8.4 GW have signed connection agreements.

The figure represents the capacity of projects which have submitted connection requests to network operators. This does not necessarily match the volumes that will be commissioned, as the abandonment rate before commissioning is significant and depends on the volumes the government supports in the coming years.

The Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions accounted for 50% of France’s installed solar capacity as of June 2026 and 45% of the capacity added during 1H.

During the Q1 of 2026, 1.5 GW of new solar capacity was connected to the country’s grid, comparable to the 1.57 GW added during the same period in 2025.

In a major push toward carbon neutrality, the French government launched its third Multi-Year Energy Program (PPE3) in February to increase production of decarbonized, sovereign, and competitively priced energy in the country.

The PPE3 aims to increase decarbonized energy generation from 544 TWh in 2025 to between 650 TWh and 693 TWh by 2035. It also aims to reduce fossil fuel consumption to approximately 330 TWh in 2035, down from 900 TWh recorded in 2023.