France’s renewable capacity rises to 55GW

The total renewable energy capacity of France rose to 54.69 gigawatts (GW) by the end of the first half of 2020, driven by new wind and solar photovoltaic additions, Kallanish Energy reports.

New figures published by the French renewables energy agency SER show that at the end of June this year, the country’s total renewables capacity increased by 2.43 GW over the previous 12 months to a total of 54.69 GW.

During the second quarter of this year, 333 megawatts (MW) of new capacity was installed, of which solar and wind represented 172 MW and 159 MW respectively.

Wind power is the primary energy source among French renewables, with a total capacity of 16.93 GW. Annual capacity growth since June 2019 was recorded at 1.24 GW, with electricity produced from wind power totalling 6.9 TWh during second quarter, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.2% from Q2 2019.

Solar power capacity increased by 972 MW on a yearly basis to a total capacity of 9.9 GW at the end of June this year. Electricity produced from solar during the second quarter totalled 4.5 TWh, representing a year-on-year increase of 22% from the same period the previous year.

Meanwhile, hydroelectric capacity increased to 25.7 GW and bioenergy capacity increased to 2.1 GW at the end of June 2020.

Of France’s total energy consumption during second quarter this year, renewable energies contributed 33.2%, an increase on the previous quarterly high set in Q2 2018 of 30.7%. SER attributed the increase to increased electricity production from renewable sources, which reached 30.4 terrwatts (TWh) during the period, as well as reduced metropolitan energy consumption as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Source: https://www.kallanishenergy.com/2020/09/28/frances-renewable-capacity-rises-to-55gw/