Energy communities reach combined capacity of 74 MW in France

Share

From pv magazine France

Active collective self-consumption projects, in which communities produce and consume renewable electricity, are becoming attractive in all regions of France, even the least sunny.

According to French grid operator Enedis' newly published figures for the last quarter of 2024, France had a total of 698 active collective self-consumption operations with a combined capacity of 74 MW. This is nearly 140 more operations than in the third quarter of 2024 and double the number reached in 2023, when Enedis only had 332 active operations throughout the country.

The grid operator lists a total of 8,342 participants spread across all collective self-consumption operations in France with an average of two producers and 10 consumers per operation.

In the regional rankings, we find, unsurprisingly, Occitania with 94 sun-drenched operations, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region (98 operations), which is historically very dynamic in photovoltaics, and, more surprisingly, the Grand Est region (81), which takes third place on the podium thanks to a dense industrial fabric that promotes the implementation of projects. This performance is also supported by numerous local initiatives led by associations and communities involved in renewable energy.

Occitania recorded remarkable progress with 19 new collective self-consumption operations in just one quarter. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est and Occitania regions also played a leading role, each with 17 new operations launched during the period.

The observed momentum calls for optimism in the sector. Enerplan suggests that collective self-consumption operations will quickly exceed 100 MW of connected power and 10,000 participants throughout France. However, the union of solar energy professionals calls for “reducing the complexity of the administrative framework” for such operations so as not to hinder their growth – particularly with regard to the possible need to obtain a license for producers of collective self-consumption.

 

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

Popular content

Carrier launches new air-to-water heat pumps for residential, commercial applications
13 January 2025 Carrier, a US-based heating solutions provider, has introduced a new 4-14 kW line of heat pumps with a coefficient of performance of up to 4.90. The s...