France wants to install 48.1 gigawatts of photovoltaics by 2030

France intends to achieve its target of 140 gigawatts by 2050 primarily with ground-mounted systems.

French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne has presented a new plan to the National Council for the Ecological Transition (CNTE) that includes revised targets for renewable energy and photovoltaics by 2030. It provides for an increase in the budget for the energy transition from 30 billion euros to 37 billion euros.

According to the updated expansion targets, France wants to increase installed photovoltaic capacity to 48.1 gigawatts by 2030 and to 140 gigawatts by 2050. In order to achieve the target for 2030, between 3700 and 5500 megawatts of new photovoltaic systems would have to be installed every year. By the end of March, France had 17.15 gigawatts of cumulative installed photovoltaic capacity. This means that the installed capacity would have to triple in the next seven years.

The share of renewable energies in gross final energy consumption stagnated at 20.7 percent in 2022. This makes France the only European country that has not yet reached the targeted share of 23 percent.

As for the long-term vision, the French government's strategy envisages installing a total of 140 gigawatts of photovoltaics by mid-century. This goal comprises different segments: 45 gigawatts are to be achieved by photovoltaic systems on brownfield sites, another 45 gigawatts with systems in natural, agricultural or forested areas, 35 gigawatts on large roofs and 12 gigawatts with self-consumption initiatives by households.

For a brief classification: Germany currently already has an installed photovoltaic capacity of around 74 gigawatts . The federal government has set itself the goal of increasing the cumulative installed photovoltaic capacity to 215 gigawatts by 2030.

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