France electricity generation: hydro
France electricity generation: hydro stood at 62.4 TWh in 2025, according to ODRé – Open Data Réseaux Énergies (RTE, NaTran, Teréga). It is one of the indicators in the Electricity: annual generation, consumption and capacity table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 2012 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Electricity: annual generation, consumption and capacity table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydro | 62.4 | 75.3 | 58.8 | 49.6 | 62 | 64.9 | 59.6 | 67.8 | 53.2 | 63.6 | |
| Wind | 49.6 | 46.8 | 50.9 | 38.9 | 36.9 | 39.7 | 33.8 | 28.1 | 24 | 20.9 | |
| Solar | 32.9 | 24.8 | 22.5 | 19.2 | 14.2 | 12.7 | 12 | 10.4 | 9.1 | 8.4 |
Understanding france electricity generation: hydro
Tracking electrical output derived from moving water, this measure records generation from run-of-river installations, conventional storage dams, and pumped-storage hydroelectric facilities. The metric calculates the total electricity injected into the grid by hydro plants, excluding the electricity consumed by pump-storage stations when drawing water back up into reservoirs. Unlike thermal or nuclear alternatives reliant on fuel supply chains, hydro generation responds directly to hydrological conditions, rainfall totals, and snowpack melt dynamics. It diverges from other renewable categories through its unique ability to store energy in reservoirs and dispatch power rapidly to match grid demand peaks.
Reading this series requires acknowledging the strong seasonal and annual volatility driven by precipitation patterns, which can cause substantial revisions when hydrological data is finalized. Analysts should prioritize year-on-year evaluations to filter out multi-year drought or flood anomalies that obscure underlying generation capacity. Care must be taken not to treat gross hydro generation as net output when evaluating pumped-storage facilities, as the electricity used for pumping is accounted for separately in energy balances.
Frequently asked questions
- What types of water-based facilities contribute to this hydro series?
- Output combines generation from run-of-river dams, conventional reservoirs, and hydroelectric pumped-storage plants.
- Are the electricity volumes consumed by water pumps included in this figure?
- No, the series records generation output and excludes the power consumed during the water-pumping phase.
- Why are multi-year comparisons essential for analyzing hydro data?
- Rainfall and snowpack fluctuations create large annual swings that require multi-year context to interpret correctly.