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Power Plants in France

France has 173 power plants mapped on the OverWatts open energy atlas — the 23rd-largest fleet of the 155 countries that hold any, and 0.6% of the world's mapped total. Of these, 120 operating and 32 under construction or proposed. Operating generation capacity totals 97.3 GW across 120 utility-scale plants of 100 MW and above. The largest is Gravelines nuclear power plant (5.7 GW).

The largest owner-operators are Electricité de France SA (53), EDF Energy Ltd (43) and Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR) (12) — Electricité de France SA alone is named on 31% of them. Half of France's power plants in service predate 1980 (median commissioning year of the 119 with a known date), 10 came online in the past decade and the oldest still listed is Kembs hydroelectric plant, dating from 1932. 32 are in the pipeline, led by Bugey nuclear power plant (3.3 GW), proposed. They account for 57% of every energy asset OverWatts maps in France.

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173
Power Plant in France
#23
of 155 countries
97.3 GW
Operating capacity
32
In construction / proposed

Operating generation capacity by fuel

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Largest power plants in France

Who owns France's power plants

Counts an asset once per company named as its owner or operator; a joint venture counts for each partner.

When they were built

Median commissioning year 1980 · oldest Kembs hydroelectric plant (1932) · newest Yeu And Noirmoutier wind farm (2024) · 119 of 173 carry a start date

Under construction & proposed

How France compares · power plants by country

Frequently asked

How many power plants are there in France?
OverWatts maps 173 power plants in France — 0.6% of the world's mapped total, the 23rd-largest national fleet of the 155 countries with any.
What is the largest power plant in France?
Gravelines nuclear power plant, at 5.7 GW, operated by Electricité de France.
How much power-generation capacity do France's power plants have?
About 97.3 GW operating across 120 plants, with a further 40.7 GW under construction or proposed. That covers utility-scale sites of 100 MW and above, so it sits below national installed capacity wherever distributed generation is large.
Who owns the power plants in France?
Electricité de France SA is named as owner or operator on the most — 53 of 173 (31%). Next are EDF Energy Ltd (43), Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR) (12) and EDF Renewables (5).
How old are France's power plants?
The median commissioning year is 1980, across the 119 in service with a known start date. The oldest still listed is Kembs hydroelectric plant (1932); 10 came online in the past ten years.
What new power plants are being built in France?
32 projects are under construction or proposed. The largest are Bugey nuclear power plant (3.3 GW), Gravelines nuclear power plant (3.3 GW) and Penly nuclear power plant (3.3 GW).

Other asset classes in France

Cement Plant 52LNG Terminal 18Iron & Steel Plant 14Pipeline 12Grid Storage 9Interconnector 7Chemical Plant 6Refinery 5Data Centre 3Export Terminal 3Oil & Gas Field 2

Power Plants in other countries

China 11,537United States 3,831India 1,675Brazil 879Spain 653Australia 615Philippines 489Russia 461Canada 452Vietnam 392Japan 387Germany 335