Solar panels in France 2026: are they still worth it after sell-back rate falls?

Solar panels have long been considered a good investment for property owners in France, providing clean and cheap power.

Photovoltaic solar panels (those that produce electricity from sunlight, as opposed to solar thermal panels which only convert solar energy into hot water) have in particular benefitted from several advantageous policies.

Chief among these were subsidies for installing panels and generous schemes for selling surplus energy back to the grid.

However, new regulations published in the Journal officiel on June 4, 2026 and now in place mark a decisive shift in solar panel installation. 

Experts believe that the change will cement domestic solar panel installation as a key element of France’s green turn - although it alters the way in which homeowners should be installing panels to derive maximum benefit.

Instead of looking to sell on surplus electricity (autoconsommation avec revente du surplus) people are being encouraged to work towards retaining surplus production and using it for powering their own home at night.

"The reform does not kill profitability… but it will penalise badly-sized projects," said president of the national association of private photovoltaic producers, the GPPEP, Joël Mercy, quoted in Capital.

Households will benefit chiefly from installations tied to the size of their home and geared at covering only their household needs rather than expansive projects.

Several changes in recent years

The June 2026 changes are the latest in a number of updates across the sector.

In March 2025 the government took a first measure to reduce funding by reducing installation bonuses both for those planning to sell excess energy back to the grid and those using panels for self-consumption.

Then this June’s decree ended the prime à l'investissement for those installing panels to sell back excess supply. 

While local grants may still be available for installation, these bonuses were the most common that homeowners benefitted from when installing panels.

The option for individual consumers (those with an installation of 9 kWc or below) to solely sell electricity back to the grid (vente en totalité) is no longer possible for new installations.

The June 2026 changes also saw the government further cut back on the rates at which surplus electricity can be sold back to suppliers. Until March 2025, the sell-back rate stood at 12.69c per kilowatt-hour (kWh). It was then reduced to 4c per kWh, and following June’s change now stands at 1.1c per kWh, essentially a symbolic figure.

The biggest losers from this change are new people who plump for installations far greater than needed for powering their home, looking to earn money through selling surplus electricity.

Note that these changes affect only new installations: homeowners whose connection request was filed before June 5, 2026 keep their original rate locked in for the full 20-year contract.

Also from September 2026, those with larger installations (9 kWc) or smaller installations using certain tax regimes and selling back electricity to the grid must also use electronic billing or otherwise give their supplier a mandate to organise factures on their behalf. This is a national policy for all businesses in France.

Other changes in the June decree saw the investment bonus (prime à l'investissement) - previously paid only on self-consumption-with-surplus-resale installations, scrapped for new connections.

The shift had been on the cards for years. "We had seen it coming," said Mr Mercy.

"The state was already signalling as far back as 2010 [funding for these installations] would eventually wind down."

Installations still encouraged

The decrees of March 2025 and June 2026, however, are not aiming at gutting the sector – still seen as vital to France’s efforts at ecological transition – but rather to define better how homeowners should go about installing panels.

In October 2025, VAT for the delivery and installation of solar panels dropped from 20% (10% for smaller installations) to 5.5%.

This applies to installations of 9 kWc – essentially covering installations that power homes but not industrial installations geared at producing large amounts of excess electricity to sell on – and installed by a professional company.

Most single homes, regardless of family size, are unlikely to be larger than 9 kWc, with smaller properties even benefitting from cheaper 3 kWc installations.

General installation costs have also dropped considerably: a 3 kWc system that cost over €20,000 in 2010 now costs around €6,500, cutting costs even without subsidies being used. Self-install kits, which do not have access to the advantages above, have also become cheaper in recent years.

What has changed from June’s decree is how panels become advantageous.

"Today you need to think in terms of savings on your bill, not income from resale," said Mr Mercy.

As mentioned, selling a kWh back to the grid now earns just 1.1c. 

Using that same kWh at home for personal consumption however saves you from paying the grid rate for electricity.

This is roughly 19c per kWh, even reaching up to 25 centimes per kWh in some periods or for some contracts. 

It makes it between 17 to 23 times more valuable to use excess electricity than sell it on, while consuming your stored-up power also reduces the strain on the grid during peak periods. 

A standard 3 kWc installation produces between 3,000 and 4,000 kWh per year, depending on region, roof orientation and sunshine. 

A household that consumes most of that directly can save several hundred euros annually, with savings growing as bills rise.

Are batteries the future? 

A key component of this change is the necessity to store power during the day and use it in the evening, the period where households generally use the most power. 

As the sector becomes more mainstream and impacted by technological innovation and spurred on by the electric vehicle boost - batteries have also become cheaper to install.

Batteries that store 5 kWh (enough to power a two-person home for an evening) cost below €1,200. Larger installations and professional installation can increase costs, but generally should not reach above €5,000 - €7,000 for a household that has an installation of 9 kWc or below.

While there are no aids, estimates show that a family of four would, using an 8 kWh battery, save around €500 per year for 10 years from their electricity bill, paying back the installation cost and then some. 

There is also the option for ‘virtual batteries’ with some installations. These are cheaper to install and see you ‘credited’ by your supplier for excess energy produced by your panels in the day (that you send to them instead of storing it). 

They can be more complicated to set up, however, and physical batteries are generally seen as the best option for those with the upfront funds to install them.

Note that ADEME (Agence de la transition écologique), France's public agency for ecological transition can also help you check what help is available in your local area.

Photovoltaic solar panels remain ineligible under the MaPrimeRénov' grant system, although standard home improvement loans (prêts travaux) are still an option for those wanting to install them but unable to provide the upfront costs.