Repeated summer heat waves and skyrocketing electricity prices last winter led the French to install more and more solar panels on their rooftops: the number of installations for individual self-consumption has more than doubled by two years, according to figures published by Enedis.
In total, as of June 30, 2023, France had 325,939 individual self-consumers of electricity, an increase of 77% compared to mid-2022, and the number of special installations more than doubled compared to mid-2021 (121,346). ). In terms of installed capacity, the increase is 88% in one year, up to 1,629 MW as of June 30, 2022 and 535 MW as of June 30, 2021, Enedis indicates.
Four departments in the south of the country stand out, with an installed power of more than 50 megawatts: Haute-Garonne, Hérault, Bouches-du-Rhône and Isère, indicates the French Observatory of Ecological Transition, transmitted by Enedis, the electricity distribution network to individuals.
224 local collective operators
But industrial departments such as the North, Loire Atlantique or Rhône are also growing strongly, with an installed capacity of between 36 MW and 47 MW each. The Observatory points out that collective self-consumption is also developing, that is, the local exchange of electricity between one or more producers at the level of a building, a condominium, a district or an industrial area.
As of June 30, 224 local collective operators were listed in the country, and the acceleration in the pace of progress is mainly due to local authorities carrying out 60% of the projects, according to the Observatory. However, these figures are far from making up for the French lag in photovoltaics, especially with regard to large solar field installations.
Photovoltaic energy should reach between 92 and 144 GW of installed power in 2050 for France to meet its carbon neutrality targets, recalls Ademe on its site. However, the power of the French photovoltaic solar park only reached 18 GW at the end of the first half of 2023, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Ecological Transition. The production of electricity from photovoltaic solar origin, which amounted to 11.2 TWh in the first semester, represents 4.7% of French electricity consumption during the semester.
Source: BFM TV
