Green electricity in France in 2026: what the label actually means

What does a "green" electricity offer actually mean?

In France, a green electricity offer is a commercial contract in which a supplier commits to buying, on behalf of its customers, a volume of renewable electricity equal to their consumption. The main renewable sources used in France are hydropower, onshore and offshore wind, solar photovoltaics, biomass and, to a smaller extent, geothermal energy.

Physically, the grid operated by RTE is shared: electrons produced by a wind farm, a hydroelectric dam or a nuclear plant all mix the moment they enter the grid. Choosing a green offer does not change the electrons reaching your home. What you buy is a guarantee that an equivalent volume of renewable electricity was produced and fed into the grid.

How Guarantees of Origin (GO) work

Guarantees of Origin are an EU-harmonised mechanism. For each MWh of renewable electricity generated, the producer receives a unique digital certificate. It specifies the technology (hydro, wind, solar, biomass, etc.), the production site, the date and any public subsidies received. In France the national registry is operated by EEX, which took over from Powernext.

A supplier must purchase as many GOs as it sells under green offers. The well-known limit of the system: GOs and physical electricity are traded on two separate markets. A supplier can buy commodity electricity on the wholesale market and offset it with cheap GOs sourced from large amortised Nordic hydro plants. This is fully legal under the EU directive but it does not finance any new French renewable capacity.

The ADEME VertVolt label: two levels of commitment

To help households compare apples to apples, ADEME (the French Agency for Ecological Transition) launched the public VertVolt label in 2021. It is the only French institutional label dedicated to green electricity. It distinguishes two levels:

• VertVolt "engaged": the supplier buys an amount of renewable electricity equivalent to what it sells, from producers located in France, and covers it with associated French GOs.
• VertVolt "very engaged": in addition to the level-1 criteria, at least 25% of the electricity must come from recent installations built without public subsidies, or from citizen-owned projects with shared governance.

Certification is granted after an external audit. The public list of certified offers (and their level) is maintained on vertvolt.ademe.fr and republished as open data on data.ademe.fr. This is the reference source to rely on instead of supplier marketing.

French electricity mix: what the RTE 2025 report shows

To understand the real impact of a green offer, you need to look at the production mix. According to RTE's 2025 Electricity Balance, France keeps one of the most decarbonised mixes in the world: the low-carbon share (nuclear plus renewables) stays above 95% of national production. The renewable share keeps growing, driven by wind and solar, while nuclear remains the main pillar.

This French specificity has a direct consequence for consumers: the average carbon intensity of the kWh delivered to your home is low (in the order of a few tens of grams of CO2 per kWh on a yearly average), well below the European average. Switching to a green offer in France therefore does not "decarbonise" your consumption overnight as it would in a coal-heavy country: its main role is to be an economic signal that funds future renewable capacity.

"Paper" green offers versus genuinely committed offers

To compare offers honestly, it helps to distinguish three families:

• "Paper" green offers (GOs only): the supplier simply purchases cheap GOs, sometimes imported from Northern Europe. Limited impact on French renewable deployment, but the price is often aligned with the regulated tariff.
• Premium or local green offers: GOs come from French producers, sometimes identified (small installations, local projects). An intermediate level of commitment, generally aligned with VertVolt "engaged".
• Direct-supply offers (PPA / "achat direct producteur"): the supplier signs a Power Purchase Agreement directly with a French renewable plant, in addition to associated GOs. This approach is growing strongly in 2026 and often matches the VertVolt "very engaged" level.

What to check before subscribing

Before committing, verify the following:

• VertVolt certification on vertvolt.ademe.fr (not only on the supplier's marketing page).
• Origin of the Guarantees of Origin: France or Europe? technology (hydro, wind, solar, biomass)? old or recent installations?
• Contract type: multi-year fixed price, indexed on the regulated tariff (TRV), or market-indexed? Time-of-use or Tempo options available?
• Supplier transparency: public list of partner producers, annual mix report, clear disclosure about the share covered by direct-supply contracts.
• Dispute resolution: does the offer mention the national energy ombudsman and the framework set by the CRE (French Energy Regulatory Commission)?

Switching to a green offer: how it works in France

In France, switching electricity supplier is free, involves no power cut and requires no action with your previous supplier. The new supplier handles the termination. You typically need an IBAN, your PDL/PRM number (visible on your Linky meter or on a recent bill) and around ten minutes online.

Consumer rights are summarised on service-public.fr and supervised by the CRE. If a problem with your supplier remains unresolved, you can contact the national energy ombudsman. Independent consumer associations like UFC-Que Choisir regularly publish reviews of the green offers available on the French market and are useful complements to the VertVolt label.

For more context, see our overview of the French electricity providers and our explainer on the French regulated tariff (TRV).