Image: Mustang Joe, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0
According to data from French grid operator Enedis, 1,418 MW of new photovoltaic capacity was connected to the country’s distribution network in the first quarter of 2026. This is largely in line with the 1,407 MW recorded in the first quarter of 2025, indicating stable deployment levels despite a slowdown in the solar sector in recent months.
The decline is attributed to regulatory changes affecting the residential segment and delays in new tender rounds. There are currently approximately 10 GW of projects in the pipeline, awaiting connection to the electricity grid.
Of the capacity connected in the first quarter of 2026, 41 MW comes from self-consumption PV systems without grid injection, while 284 MW was connected under self-consumption schemes with surplus injection. Another 1,093 MW was intended for systems that fully inject their power into the distribution grid.
A total of 31,565 PV systems were connected between January and March 2026. This includes 26,611 installations in the sub-36 kW segment, which amounts to 168 MW, 1,114 installations in the low-voltage segment of 36-100 kW (93 MW), 3,678 installations in the segment of 100-250 kW (749 MW), and 162 installations in the medium-voltage segment (407 MW).
Only 8 MW of capacity was associated with storage during the period, compared to 38 MW in the first quarter of 2025.
France will have deployed 5.9 MW of solar energy by 2025. This figure set a new record for the French PV sector, surpassing the 4.6 GW installed in 2024, 3.1 GW in 2023, 2.6 GW in 2022 and 2.8 GW in 2021.
The country’s cumulative installed PV capacity stood at approximately 31.1 GW at the end of December.
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