France became Europe's largest net electricity exporter in the first half of the year

France overtook Sweden in the first half of the year to become Europe's largest net electricity exporter. Germany, by contrast, is turning from an exporter into an importer. Bloomberg reported this today, citing data from EnAppSys. The Czech Republic was also a net electricity exporter in the first half of the year.

France's total net exports amounted to 17,6 terawatt-hours. Most of the electricity from France went to Britain and Italy. French nuclear power plants therefore remain crucial to the European electricity market, despite high output from renewable sources such as solar power plants. These have recently been highly productive, as a heatwave hit many parts of southern Europe during the summer.

Sweden fell to second place among exporters, while Spain took third place, displacing Germany. Sweden's net exports amounted to 14,6 terawatt-hours, while Spain's came to 8,8 terawatt-hours.

Spain has recently been hit by extreme heat and is benefiting from rising electricity production from renewable sources, particularly its huge capacity of solar power plants. The country is also benefiting from lower gas prices for power generation.