How wind power grew in France
An experimental 800 kVA wind turbine ran at Nogent-le-Roi in the late 1950s. Modern wind came to Port-la-Nouvelle in Aude, where Tramontana SARL had four 500 kW Vestas turbines connected to the grid on 10 September 1993, under an EU demonstration programme. Offshore wind arrived at scale much later. The 80-turbine Saint-Nazaire farm began producing in June 2022.
National policy began with the Éole 2005 programme, launched in February 1996 to reach 250 to 500 MW by 2005. By February 1999 it had selected 31 projects totalling 125 MW. An obligation to buy wind power on 15-year contracts ran from 2000 to 2015. Since 2016 new wind has been sold on the market with a top-up payment, and onshore tenders began in May 2017. Saint-Nazaire is owned by EDF Renouvelables, Enbridge and CPP.
France had 26,703 MW of wind on 30 June 2026: 24,387 MW onshore and 2,316 MW offshore. Wind produced 49.6 TWh in 2025, 9.1% of a mix in which nuclear made 68.1%. Weak winds held the onshore load factor to 21.4%, the lowest in ten years. The energy plan published on 13 February 2026 targets 31 GW onshore by 2030. A further 16.2 GW of wind was waiting for a grid connection in mid-2026.
Sources: NASA · CORDIS · INERIS · Ministère de la Transition écologique · L'Info Durable · SDES · Connaissance des Énergies · Les Énergies Renouvelables
Where France's power comes from, 2025
| Source | Share of electricity |
|---|---|
| Nuclear | 68.8% |
| Hydro | 10.4% |
| Wind | 8.2% |
| Solar | 5.6% |
| Gas | 3.0% |
| Bioenergy | 1.8% |
| Other fossil fuels | 1.8% |
| Coal | 0.3% |
| Geothermal and other renewables | 0.1% |
Wind farms in France
We track 1,765 wind farms in France: 27.2 GW operating and 34.6 GW under construction, consented or planned, with 30.0 GW of it offshore. Each one's owners, turbines and status are in the Wind app.
Electricity data: Ember yearly electricity data (CC BY 4.0). Wind farms: national registers and Global Energy Monitor; see data sources.
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