Despite adding more than 5 gigawatts of clean energy capacity, France missed its solar and wind installation targets in 2023.
France missed its target of adding new solar and wind power capacity last year, despite adding more than 5 gigawatts GW to its renewable energy fleet, according to data from the French Energy Transition Ministry reported by Montel. France installed a total of 3.1 GW of solar power in 2023, including a quarterly record-high of 0.9 GW in the last quarter of the year, as well as 1.1 GW of onshore wind and 1 GW of offshore wind.
In recent months, France has focused on its nuclear fleet, which provides around 70% of its electricity and which – typically – allows one of Europe’s biggest economies to export electricity to its European neighbors and partners. Early this year, France’s Ministry of Energy Transition introduced a bill on energy sovereignty, which highlights the importance the country will attach to nuclear power generation in the future.