France's grid-connected solar PV capacity exceeded 10 GW

According to data provided by the French Ministry of Energy's Department of Data and Statistical Research (SDES), after France opened 182 MW of new solar photovoltaic power plants in the first quarter of 2020, France's total solar PV grid-connected capacity exceeded 10 GW
.

At the end of March, France had 10,072 MW of grid-connected solar PV installed capacity, compared to 9,892 MW a year earlier, with most of the facilities located in mainland
France.
In the first quarter alone, 6,933 new units were commissioned for a total of 182 MW, representing an annual growth rate of 7%.

According to statistics, the largest number of grid-connected photovoltaic power plants used from January to March is in the south of mainland France, mainly in Nueva Aquitaine, Ossini, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Ivoire
.
In terms of capacity, about 41% of the newly commissioned power plants have a capacity greater than 250 kW
.

Solar power generation in the first quarter was 2.
3 TWh due to higher levels of solar radiation, up from 2.
2 TWh
in the same period last year.
In the past three months, photovoltaic power generation has met 1.
7% of the country's electricity demand
.

At the end of March, the pipeline capacity of solar projects in France was 7.
4 GW
.
Of these, about 1.
8 GW have already been contracted
to connect to the grid.