France connected 3 GW of new solar capacity in the first half of 2026, slightly above the 2.9 GW deployed in the same period of 2025. Large-scale installations above 500 kW accounted for 28% of newly connected capacity, despite representing just 0.3% of new connections. Systems below 9 kW dominated installation numbers, accounting for 78% of new connections but only 8% of added capacity.
According to the latest solar energy dashboard published by France’s Ministry in charge of Energy (SDES), 3 GW of new solar capacity was connected in the first half of 2026, slightly above the 2.9 GW added during the same period in 2025.
Installations larger than 500 kW accounted for 28% of newly connected capacity but just 0.3% of new connections. By contrast, systems below 9 kW represented 78% of new installations but only 8% of newly added capacity.
As of June 30, 2026, France’s cumulative installed PV capacity stood at 34 GW, including 33 GW in mainland France and 1 GW in the overseas territories.
In the second quarter of 2026, gross solar power generation in mainland France reached 14.1 TWh, up 18% from 11.9 TWh a year earlier. Excluding self-consumption, solar generation totaled 13.7 TWh and covered 8.6% of mainland France’s electricity consumption during the period, up 1.6 percentage points from the second quarter of 2025.
