France, lagging behind in renewable energies, accelerated its development in the first half of 2022, notably thanks to the connection of an additional gigawatt of wind power, that is, four times more than during the same period in 2021.
Almost half of this capacity increase comes from the commissioning in the spring of 2022 of the first offshore wind farm in France, off Saint-Nazaire, according to statistics from the Ministry of Energy Transition, published this Friday on its website. As of June 30, 2022, the French wind farm thus reached a capacity of 20.0 gigawatts (GW), well below the country’s goal of producing 24.1 GW of wind electricity by the end of 2023.
Unfavorable wind conditions
The wind energy sector, which in particular laments the slowness in issuing authorizations, had gained only one GW in all of 2021. In addition, wind electricity production, which represents 7.8% of French electricity consumption, fell considerably. compared to the second quarter of 2021 (-11%), “due to more unfavorable wind conditions”, according to the department of data and statistical studies of the ministry.
On the solar PV side, only 1,098 GW of electricity was connected in the first six months of 2022, compared to 1,534 GW in the same period in 2021.
In total, the power of the photovoltaic solar park reached 15.2 GW, compared to a target set in the law of 20.1 GW at the end of 2023. The production of photovoltaic solar energy increased by 32% compared to the first half of 2021 ., which represents 3.8% of French electricity consumption during the period.
Source: BFM TV
