Renewable electricity barometer in France: despite a good year in 2025, an uncertain future

This situation is not ideal at a time when the country needs to accelerate in order to stay on track with its energy transition.

By 2025, France will have connected more than 7 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable energy capacity to the grid. This unprecedented volume represents a new annual record and brings the national renewable electricity generation capacity to over 86 GW by the end of the year. This momentum comes within an already favorable context: in 2024, renewable electricity production reached a historic high of 155 TWh, covering 31,3% of the country's electricity consumption. This growth, however, remains largely driven by the photovoltaic sector alone, which accounts for more than 5 GW of the new capacity connected. Conversely, onshore wind power is lagging, with barely 1 GW of new installations in 2025, while offshore wind power is still struggling to dispel uncertainties regarding its development trajectory, and hydropower's primary objective is to maintain its current capacity level.

However, given its potential and the structure of its industrial sectors, France could do more in terms of renewable electricity production. Industry stakeholders are warning of an increasingly restrictive environment. The lack of publication of the new multi-year energy plan deprives the sectors of clear and official visibility on the targets for 2030 and 2035. Furthermore, stagnant electricity consumption could encourage public authorities to deliberately slow the development of renewables in order to avoid electricity surpluses that would be difficult for the power grid to absorb. The year 2026 is fraught with too much uncertainty for sectors that nevertheless need to strengthen their growth.

Finally, local authorities and regions, other key players in the growth of renewable energies, also have a say. Renewable energies remain at the heart of regional environmental transition strategies, illustrated in particular by ambitious SRADDETs (regional plans for spatial planning, sustainable development and territorial equality), which also need a clearly defined national framework.

These findings come from the sixteenth "Renewable Electricity Barometer in France". In the form of concise fact sheets, this publication provides a comprehensive overview of the dynamics of eight sectors over the past twelve months.

Download the 16th Barometer of renewable electricity energies.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.