Will French roadmap reinvigorate renewables?

• France has published its energy plan to 2035 after two years of delays
• The plan commits to up to 14 nuclear reactors as well as wind and solar
• However, the renewables sector has argued there is still a lack of clarity
• French President Emmanuel Macron has criticised Spanish renewables

French President Emmanuel Macron argued on Wednesday (11th February) that Europe needed a single energy market, which would rely on massive investment in grid infrastructure. Those in the renewables sector want to see France address its own issues first.

Today (13th February), the French government published its roadmap setting energy priorities to 2035, called the third Multi-Year Energy Programme (PPE3). The decade-long plan has been in development since early 2023 but delayed by the political turmoil that followed Macron’s decision to call a snap legislative election in mid-2024. Political wrangling since then included deadlock over the balance between nuclear and renewables in France.

Companies in the renewables sector have argued that PPE3’s delayed introduction has held back policies that would unlock investment in sectors including wind and solar. This has caused uncertainty that delayed projects, put jobs at risk, and cut investment in the sector overall, with some even arguing that it has acted as an unofficial moratorium.

The publication of the PPE3 plan should help unlock investment in renewables, but the backing for renewables is less concrete than the support for nuclear.

Nuclear fallout for renewables sector

France gains two-thirds (66.8%) of electricity from 57 nuclear reactors, according to the International Energy Agency. This is ahead of hydropower (13.6%), wind (8.3%), solar (4.1%) and natural gas (3.1%).

This means that nuclear makes up 43.8% of the country’s total energy mix, ahead of oil (27.2%), natural gas (12.1%) and biofuels (8.6%). Natural gas is a smaller proportion of the electricity mix than the overall energy mix because it is usually used directly as a fuel, not burned to create electricity. Hydropower makes up 2.7% of the total energy mix with coal at 2.5%, and other renewables including solar and wind being just 3% combined.

Finally, nuclear represents 76.2% of the country’s domestic energy production, ahead of biofuels (13.2%) and hydropower (4.7%) with other renewables including wind and solar making up a combined 5.3%.

It is therefore no surprise that Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has said nuclear with remain a cornerstone of France’s energy strategy. The 2035 plan sets a goal for the construction of six new nuclear reactors, with the potential to add eight more, and a target for 60% of overall energy use to come from decarbonised sources by 2030. That would mean a sharp rise from the current level of around 40% in only five years, but is intended to help France reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels. Current oil and gas imports to France are worth around €60bn annually.

This plan should be hugely supportive for the nuclear industry in France after years of delays to the introduction of new energy policies. These delays have followed over 18 months of political deadlock after Macron’s disastrous decision to call a snap election in summer 2024. That failed political gambit entrenched a three-way split in the National Assembly that made it harder for France to establish a stable government and progress with key policy areas.

But it is disappointing that even PPE3, which sets out strong support for nuclear, is being portrayed as putting nuclear and renewables in conflict.

French nuclear trade association GIFEN welcomed PPE3 for putting nuclear at the heart of energy policy, but some in its industry have criticised the impact of supporting renewables. In addition, opponents from political parties including the right-wing Rassemblement National have taken issue with the €300bn plan for continuing to promote renewables. This is even though support for renewables in the plan still looks weaker and less defined than the backing for nuclear power.

No moratorium on renewables

The nuclear industry has been fighting for a rapid expansion in the 2035 plan, whereas the focus for the renewables sector has been to end a quasi-moratorium.

Last week (6th February), trade association France Renouvelables held a meeting with the French government to confirm there would be “no moratorium on renewable energy” after delays over the last two years. The association said this was important to improve confidence among developers, investors and those in the renewables workforce.

The 2035 plan has confirmed there will be tenders for new wind and solar projects in France, as well as support for repowering and wider decarbonisation of the country’s energy mix. It includes commitments to support the growth of offshore wind in French waters from 1.5GW now to 15GW by 2035, which is a reduction from the expected 18GW target, as well as restarting tenders for new solar and onshore wind capacity.

This could build on recent growth. Total renewables capacity rose 34.8% over four years to 74.3GW at the end of 2024, according to statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency. This includes a 32% rise in wind capacity to 24.6GW and a doubling of solar capacity to 21.5GW over that period. Analyst GlobalData has predicted that total installed renewables capacity in France could triple over the next decade.

PPE3 includes targets for solar to more than double in capacity to 48GW by 2030, and expand further over the next decade to between 55GW and 80GW. That is lower than a target of up-to-90GW solar by 2035 in a previous draft.

There is also a goal for onshore wind to grow by a maximum of 15GW to between 35GW and 40GW by 2035, which is lower than a previous up-to-45GW target. This wind target appears particularly uninspiring, and focuses on the repowering of existing wind farms rather than significant deployments on greenfield sites.

Meanwhile, Macron on Wednesday (11th February) blamed Spain and Portugal’s huge electricity blackouts in April 2025 for the Iberian power grid’s overreliance on renewables in Spain. This accusation has been rejected by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Macron has said “no system can withstand such dependence on renewable energies”, which is a vital insight with the emerging energy policy agenda in his home nation.

France Renouvelables has called for a “swift and ambitious clarification of the national energy trajectory” following a “chronic lack of visibility over several years”, but shared a concern about the lack of clear policies. The association said this would set back the energy transition in France and said it was particularly concerned by Economy Minister Roland Lescure’s statement that PPE3 could ease off permitting of wind and solar.

This is a concern for the industry as Lescure has been entrusted to handle a six-month mission that started last month to identify obstacles to the electrification of industry, and then make legislative and regulatory proposals.

The French wind and solar industries will not want to be sidelined in any such solutions, but their battles continue. Nuclear is seeking for a bigger share of France’s energy future beyond what is offered in PPE3. Many in the renewables industry are still fighting to exist.