The French Ministry of Ecological Transition has released new statistics on installed solar and wind capacity for the first six months of 2022. Data show that as of the end of June, France’s cumulative installed photovoltaic capacity reached 15.1GW, of which 14.5GW was located in mainland France.

In the first half of this year, a total of 1,098MW of new PV systems were connected to the French grid, compared with 1,534MW in the same period last year, the ministry said. The installed capacity deployed in the first and second quarters was 607MW and 491MW, respectively.

Power generation facilities with an installed capacity of more than 250kW accounted for about 51% of the newly installed capacity. Power generation facilities with an installed capacity of less than 9kW accounted for 13% of the newly installed capacity. In the first half of this year, solar power generation reached 9.6TWh, a 32% increase over the same period in 2021.

In the first half of the year, new-Aquitaine, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions accounted for 65% of new installed capacity. These regions have the highest installed capacity, accounting for 66% of France's cumulative access to electricity as of the end of June.