For the first time in several years, the country generated more electricity than it consumed. By 2024, production has soared, exports have broken records and almost all energy has become carbon-free. A remarkable turnaround, which requires careful management, otherwise it could become a problem.
For much of the last decade, French electrical production fell short of demand.
O decline began around 2015with the reduction of nuclear contribution, and was worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, which delayed maintenance work and essential infrastructure projects.
However, in 2024, the scenario was reversed. Nuclear production recovered to pre-crisis values and renewables, especially solar and windadded another 7 gigawatts to the system.
Currently, the French electricity grid is 95% carbon freeand exports reached a record of 89 terawatts-hora.
Despite these advances, France continues to import about 60% of the energy it consumes, which, according to RTE, the manager of the national electricity grid, represents a annual cost between 50 and 70 billion euros.
The main responsible continues to be the use of fossil fuelswhich still represent around 60% of final energy consumption, note a .
The French climate strategy passes for halving emissions of greenhouse gases by 2035, which means being able to reduce the share of fuels fossils to about 30%. The two great instruments of the Government were the energy efficiency and widespread electrification.
Between 2017 and 2023, energy saving and efficiency measures began to bear fruit. THE rising electricity prices also led consumers to reduce consumptionallowing annual savings of around 30 terawatt-hours.
The result? France You now have more electricity than you need. “France is in a favorable position to accelerate electrification,” RTE in forecasts for 2025–2035.
As part of the accelerated decarbonization plan, RTE expects new demand to come especially electric vehicleswhich should add around 17 TWh annually by 2030, and from increased production of green hydrogen by electrolysis (+15 TWh) and the electrification of industrial processes (+13 TWh).
This excess capacity gives France a rare advantage: no longer needed choose between technological growth and environmental protection.
In the coming years, the expansion of digital infrastructureswith emphasis on the datacenterswill increase energy consumption. RTE predicts that consumption in these centers will triple between 2025 and 2030, going from 5 to 15 TWh.
If this course continues, the gains could be ecological and economic. RTE estimates that rapid decarbonization could boost GDP growth by 1.1% per year, a prediction that is giving reasons to smile — both to economists and environmentalists.
