{"id":132821,"date":"2025-05-26T08:51:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T08:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/132821\/"},"modified":"2025-05-26T08:51:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T08:51:09","slug":"frances-clean-energy-output-reaches-six-year-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/132821\/","title":{"rendered":"France\u2019s clean energy output reaches six-year high"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/France-energy-shutterstock_2537804917-430x241.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                    Solar and wind farms represent around 30% of France\u2019s generating capacity. Credit: Rawpixel.com\/Shutterstock.<\/p>\n<p class=\"drop-cap\">Clean energy production in France has reached a six-year high, with nearly 95% of the country\u2019s power generated from clean sources, a significant lead over other European countries, reported <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/france-flexes-clean-power-clout-nuclear-solar-output-climb-maguire-2025-05-23\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The rise in clean energy was reported despite a decline in wind and hydro power, as record solar output and the highest nuclear generation since 2019 compensated for the shortfall.<\/p>\n<p>France\u2019s reliance on nuclear energy, which accounts for approximately 70% of its electricity, has been a defining feature of its power system.<\/p>\n<p>However, challenges such as ageing reactors and operational risks during warm periods have prompted a shift towards diversifying energy sources.<\/p>\n<p>Energy think tank Ember reports that nuclear power\u2019s share in France\u2019s total generation capacity has decreased from 45% in 2019 to 39% in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The growth of renewable energy has been swift, with solar and wind farms now representing around 30% of France\u2019s generating capacity.<\/p>\n<p>Hydroelectric power contributes an additional 16%, while gas and bioenergy plants make up 12% and 2%, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>This diversification effort has been part of a broader commitment to clean energy, as France has also significantly reduced coal-fired capacity and increased bioenergy and hydro capacity.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the expansion of clean power capacity, up by 17% since 2019, has contributed to keeping France\u2019s power costs competitive.<\/p>\n<p>According to LSEG, prices in France have been 25% to 35% lower than those in Germany and Italy. This economic advantage is bolstered by France\u2019s status as a net power exporter.<\/p>\n<p>LSEG data indicates that in 2025, France\u2019s spot wholesale base power costs averaged around \u20ac73 ($82) per MWh, compared to \u20ac98\/MWh in Germany, \u20ac107\/MWh in Poland, and \u20ac125\/MWh in Italy.<\/p>\n<p>This pricing advantage enables French power firms to export surplus power profitably to Europe\u2019s interconnected power markets.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, Spain and Portugal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.power-technology.com\/news\/spain-portugal-eu-power-interconnectors-france\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">requested the European Union<\/a> to facilitate the development of additional power interconnectors with France.<\/p>\n<p>                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1744831271_191_newsletter-new.svg.svg+xml\" alt=\"Email newsletter icon\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n                    Sign up for our daily news round-up!<br \/>\n                    Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights.\n                <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Solar and wind farms represent around 30% of France\u2019s generating capacity. Credit: Rawpixel.com\/Shutterstock. Clean energy production in France&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132822,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[2000,299,36,1242],"class_list":{"0":"post-132821","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-france","11":"tag-renewables"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114573284740131611","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}