France connected 1.5 GW of new solar photovoltaic capacity during the first quarter of 2026, maintaining a pace of deployment similar to that recorded in the same period last year, according to the latest figures published by the Ministry for Ecological Transition’s Statistical Data and Studies Department (SDES).
The new additions brought the country’s cumulative solar PV capacity to 33.0 GW as of March 31, 2026, spread across more than 1.37 million installations.
According to the report, 1,495 MW of new solar capacity were connected between January and March, compared with 1,571 MW during the first quarter of 2025.
Source: SDES
 
While small-scale systems continued to dominate in terms of the number of installations, larger projects accounted for a significant share of newly added capacity.
Installations above 500 kW represented 30% of the new capacity connected during the quarter, despite accounting for only 0.3% of new grid connections. Meanwhile, systems below 9 kW made up 74% of newly connected installations but contributed just 7% of the newly installed capacity.
During the first quarter of 2026, gross photovoltaic electricity generation reached 6.6 TWh in mainland France, compared with 5.9 TWh in the same period of 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 13%. Excluding self-consumed electricity, solar generation totaled 6.2 TWh and accounted for 4.6% of electricity consumption in mainland France, 0.7 percentage points higher than in the first quarter of 2025.
Source: SDES
 
France’s solar development pipeline remains strong. As of the end of March, projects awaiting grid connection totaled 36.9 GW, including 8.3 GW with signed grid connection agreements.
Regionally, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes accounted for 50% of France’s installed solar capacity and 46% of the new capacity connected during the first quarter of 2026.
The report also highlights the continued growth of self-consumption. By the end of the quarter, 62% of photovoltaic installations in mainland France were fully or partially self-consuming their electricity production, representing 19% of the country’s installed solar capacity
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