A third of the electricity consumed in France in 2024 was from renewable sources

Renewable electricity production, which also includes exports, "reached a new record" last year, at 150 terawatt hours (TWh), up 9,8% compared to 2023, indicates the report published by the Renewable Energy Union (SER) with the ORE Agency (Energy Network Operator) and the electricity distribution network operators Enedis and RTE. For comparison, nuclear production in France stood at 361,7 TWh in 2024 according to EDF.

"This sharp increase is largely driven by the constant increase in the production of renewable electricity from solar energy (+10%) and a sharp increase in hydroelectric production (+27%)," states the document, which provides an overview of the main renewable electricity production sectors.

In terms of installed capacity (maximum production potential), the hydraulic sector is the second largest electricity production sector in France with 25,7 gigawatts (GW), just behind nuclear power (61,4 GW).

Hydropower covered 15,8% of the electricity consumed in France in 2024, ahead of onshore wind (9,6%) and solar (5,7%), while offshore wind, whose farms are currently being deployed, covered 0,9% of needs.

For the first time last year, the capacity of the solar park (24,3 GW) exceeded that of the onshore wind park (22,8 GW). Offshore wind power increased its capacity by 665 megawatts (MW) to 1,5 GW.

For its part, the electricity production park from bioenergy (wood energy, biogas, paper waste, etc.) amounted to nearly 2,3 GW and represented 1,9% of the electricity consumed.

In terms of renewable generation, hydropower takes first place on the podium with 69,8 TWh of electricity produced in 2024 (+27,3%), ahead of onshore wind (42,8 TWh, -12,6%) and solar (24,8 TWh, +10,3%). Biomass (8,5 TWh, +1,5%) and offshore wind (4 TWh, +111,2%) bring up the rear.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.