According to data from the electricity transmission network (RTE), in 2024, France exported 89 terawatt hours (TWh) more electricity than it imported, or around 17% of its total production (approximately 535 TWh). This is an absolute record, bringing down the previous peak of 2002: the country had never exported such a large quantity of electricity in its history.
The sector has come a long way: in 2022, a dark year, the trade balance recorded a deficit of 16 TWh, due, in particular, to a sharp drop in French production. The latter was mainly due to the problems encountered in the nuclear sector: closure in 2020 of the Fessenheim power plant, shutdown of other power plants for major refit work and especially for stress corrosion problems. Since then, most repairs have been carried out, and nuclear power has almost returned to its 2021 level – but production remains significantly lower than 2018 (9% drop) and well below the 2005 peak (15% drop). . Nuclear power, on the other hand, represents more than two thirds (68%) of total production.
Particularly low-carbon production
Another explanation for this record: renewable energies, which produce 27% of the total, have progressed significantly in recent years. This is largely explained by the effect of the weather: the hydraulic sector, which represents half of renewable production, produced 73 TWh of electricity, a ten-year record, due to the high level of precipitation in 2024, while 2022 was rather marked by drought. Wind and solar power have progressed significantly in recent years, but their share still remains relatively modest (9% and 4.5% of total production, respectively).
The energy produced is particularly low-carbon: the share of fossil energy has fallen to 3.6%, three times less than in 2022 and two times less than in 2018-2019. Alongside this restoration of electricity production, the consumption level in France has, however, fallen quite significantly, and is 10% lower than that of 2018-2019. This also contributed to increasing the production surplus.
On the customer side, Germany, which shut down its last nuclear power plants in 2023 and now has an electricity production deficit, has become the largest buyer of French electricity while it was the largest supplier in 2022. Great Britain and Spain too, but to a lesser extent. Enough to bring several billion euros into France's trade balance.