This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Solar power in France including overseas territories reached an installed capacity figure of 11.2 GW in 2020, and rose further to 17.1 GW at the end of 2022. [1] [2] Government plans announced in 2022 foresee solar PV capacity in France rising to 100 GW by 2050. [3]
In January 2016, the President of France, François Hollande, and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, laid the foundation stone for the headquarters of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in Gwalpahari, Gurgaon, India. The ISA will focus on promoting and developing solar energy and solar products for countries lying wholly or partially between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The alliance of over 120 countries was announced at the Paris COP21 climate summit. [4] One of the hopes of the ISA is that wider deployment will reduce production and development costs, and thus facilitate increased deployment of solar technologies, including in poor and remote regions.
Cumulative PV capacity
in megawatt-peak (MWp) since 2000
Solar PV installations in France started being substantial only from around 2008. Between 2009 and 2011 PV capacity grew almost tenfold, from a relatively low level.
In its 2014 report "Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics", the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) not only blames the French government for a lack of support, but also criticizes it for having "hastily freeze or reduce support mechanisms" for further photovoltaic deployment. [5] The EPIA also asserts that opposition from the conventional energy sector led to a negative image of PV technology in the public opinion. The French solar association SOLER urged the French government for more support and submitted a five-point plan in Spring 2014. [6]
Solar power in France continued growing steadily and reached a cumulative photovoltaic capacity of 6.6 GW by the end of 2015, producing 6.7 TWh of electricity during the year. [7] In 2015 France was the country with the seventh largest solar PV installed capacity in the world. [8] Around 903 MW of new installations were added during the year. [9]
In 2016, France was ranked 4th in the EU by installed capacity and 14th in terms of PV capacity by inhabitant at 107.3 Wp/Inhab compared to the EU average of 197.8 Wp/Inhab for the year. The country's largest completed solar park to date was the 300 MW Cestas Solar Park. [10] Approximately 560 MW of new installations were added during the year. [9]
In 2018, the state-owned company EDF had plans to invest up to €25 billion in PV power generation, and introduce green electricity tariffs; the plan is projected to "develop 30 gigawatt of solar capacity in France between 2020 and 2035". [11] [12] Similarly, Total, the giant French oil and gas company, moved in 2021 toward more significant investment in solar with the purchase of a 20% stake in Adani Green Energy, one of the world's largest solar developers. [13]
A French law passed in 2023 will require parking lots larger than 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) to build solar canopies covering half their area. This could result in installed capacity of 6.75–11.25 gigawatts, at a cost of $8.7–14.6 billion. [14]
The insolation in France ranges from 3 sun hours/day in the north to 5 sun hours/day in the south. The output of a solar array is a function of age, temperature, tilt, shading, tracking, and insolation.
|
|
|
|
0–1 watt 1–10 watts 10–50 watts 50–100 watts | 100–200 watts 200–350 watts 350–500 watts |
Year | Capacity (MW) | Watts per capita | Electricity generation % |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | 1,445 | 2 | 0.1% |
2020 | 13,098 | 200 | 2.6% |
2022 | 19,600 | 298 | 4.3% |
Installed Capacity in France by class size 2017 [21] | |
---|---|
<9 kW | 15.9% |
9–100 kW | 18.6% |
100–250 kW | 13.8% |
>250 kW | 51.7% |
France is aiming to increase its solar PV capacity from 11.5 GW in March 2021 to 23 GW by the end of 2023. The country offers feed-in tariffs for small-scale solar PV up to 100 kWp on rooftops for self-consumption, with a specific grid tariff for collective users and exemption from the domestic tax on electricity for projects under 1 MW. However, a proposal to reduce solar PV subsidies for ongoing projects until 2030 has created controversy, affecting the sector's growth despite the target of reaching 40 GW by 2028. [22] [23]
According to a report on behalf of the European Commission by 2020 France would have an estimated 1,484 MW of residential solar PV capacity with 458,000 residential solar PV prosumers in the country representing 1.6% of households. [24] The average size of residential solar PV systems is estimated to be 3.24 kW moving to 2030. [24] The technical potential for residential solar PV in France is estimated at 34,810 MW. [24] The payback time for residential Solar PV in France is 25.1 years as of 2015. [24] Some of the advantages of small scale residential Solar include eliminating the need for extra land, keeping cost saving advantages in local communities and empowering households to become prosumers of renewable electricity and thus raising awareness of wasteful consumption habits and environmental issues through direct experience.
A 17 MW floating solar plant was installed at Piolenc near the Rhône river in 2019. [28]
Many countries and territories have installed significant solar power capacity into their electrical grids to supplement or provide an alternative to conventional energy sources. Solar power plants use one of two technologies:
Spain is one of the first countries to deploy large-scale solar photovoltaics, and is the world leader in concentrated solar power (CSP) production.
Solar power accounted for an estimated 10.7% electricity in Germany in 2022, up from 1.9% in 2010 and less than 0.1% in 2000.
Solar power has a small role in electricity production in the United Kingdom.
Solar power is a growing source in the Portuguese energy mix. At the end of 2020, solar power installed capacity totalled 1.03 GW and represented 3.6% of total power generation in 2020.
Solar power consists of photovoltaics (PV) and solar thermal energy in the European Union (EU).
Historically, the main applications of solar energy technologies in Canada have been non-electric active solar system applications for space heating, water heating and drying crops and lumber. In 2001, there were more than 12,000 residential solar water heating systems and 300 commercial/ industrial solar hot water systems in use. These systems presently comprise a small fraction of Canada's energy use, but some government studies suggest they could make up as much as five percent of the country's energy needs by the year 2025.
Between 1992 and 2023, the worldwide usage of photovoltaics (PV) increased exponentially. During this period, it evolved from a niche market of small-scale applications to a mainstream electricity source. From 2016-2022 it has seen an annual capacity and production growth rate of around 26%- doubling approximately every three years.
Solar power in Romania had an installed capacity of 1,374 megawatt (MW) as of the end of 2017. The country had in 2007 an installed capacity of 0.30 MW, which increased to 3.5 MW by the end of 2011, and to 6.5 MW by the end of 2012. However, the record year of 2013 was an exception, and new installation fell back from 1,100 MW to a moderate level of 69 MW in 2014.
EDF Renewables is a wholly owned subsidiary of the French utility EDF Group, specializing in renewable energy production. As an integrated operator, the Group develops and finances the construction of renewable energy facilities, and manages operations and maintenance for its own account and for third parties.
Solar power in Greece has been driven by a combination of government incentives and equipment cost reductions. The installation boom started in the late 2000s with feed-in tariffs has evolved into a market featuring auctions, power purchase agreements, and self-generation. The country's relatively high level of solar insolation is an advantage boosting the effectiveness of solar panels; within Europe, Greece receives 50% more solar irradiation than Germany.
The Polish energy sector is the fifth largest in Europe. In 2023, the country consumed 167.52 TWh of electricity, a 3.44% year–on–year decrease from 2022. Out of this, 76.61 TWh came from hard coal, 34.57 TWh from lignite, 22 TWh from wind energy, and 13.65 TWh from gas, with the remainder coming from other sources, such as solar, biomass, and hydropower.
Solar power is an important contributor to electricity generation in Italy, accounting for 8% of the total in 2017. As of 2022, the country has a total installed capacity of 22.56 GW. In 2019, Italy set a national goal of reaching 50 GW by 2030.
As of the end of 2022, solar power in Austria amounted to nearly 3.8 gigawatt (GW) of cumulative photovoltaic (PV) capacity, with the energy source producing 4.2% of the nation's electricity.
Solar power in Mexico has the potential to produce vast amounts of energy. 70% of the country has an insolation of greater than 4.5 kWh/m2/day. Using 15% efficient photovoltaics, a square 25 km (16 mi) on each side in the state of Chihuahua or the Sonoran Desert could supply all of Mexico's electricity.
Solar power in Belgium reached an installed capacity of 9.9 GW at the end of 2023, an increase of 1.8 GW from 2022.
Solar power in the Netherlands has an installed capacity of around 23,904 megawatt (MW) of photovoltaics as of the end of 2023. Around 4,304 MW of new capacity was installed during 2023.
Under its commitment to the EU renewable energy directive of 2009, France has a target of producing 23% of its total energy needs from renewable energy by 2020. This figure breaks down to renewable energy providing 33% of energy used in the heating and cooling sector, 27% of the electricity sector and 10.5% in the transport sector. By the end of 2014, 14.3% of France's total energy requirements came from renewable energy, a rise from 9.6% in 2005.
Renewable energy in Greece accounted for 29 percent of its electricity from renewable sources in 2021. By 2030, renewables are expected to have a capacity of 28GW, and exceed 61 percent of Greece's electricity consumption. This is a significant increase from 8% of the country's total energy consumption in 2008. By 2022, Greece occasionally reached 100% renewables for a few hours. The target for 2050 is a capacity of 65GW.
Under the original 2009 Renewable Energy Directive Ireland had set a target of producing 16% of all its energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2020 but that has been updated by a second Renewable Energy Directive whose targets are 32% by 2030. Between 2005 and 2014 the percentage of energy from renewable energy sources grew from just 3.1% to 8.6% of total final consumption. By 2020 the overall renewable energy share was 13.5%, short of its Renewable Energy Drive target of 16%. Renewable electricity accounted for 69% of all renewable energy used in 2020, up from two thirds (66.8%) in 2019.