Almost a third of energy demand in France was covered by renewable sources in the second quarter of 2020.

That’s according to report by the French renewable energy association SER, which suggests total renewable capacity at the end of 2020 amounted to 54,7GW, an increase of 2,4GW in the last twelve months.

The body dubbed the figure ‘historic’ as it exceeds the previous record level of 30% of total energy consumption, seen in the second quarter of 2018.

Analysts say the increase was due to more installed capacity, record levels of solar photovoltaic production and the reduced electricity demand because of coronavirus pandemic.

Electricity generation from wind power stood at 6.9TWh in the past quarter, up 7.2% from the second quarter of 2019.

Earlier this month the French Government has announced a €30 billion (£27.3bn) programme of investment in the energy transition.