Renewables Top 50% Share of Germany’s Power Demand for The First Time

Renewable energy sources accounted for nearly 52% of Germany’s gross electricity consumption this year, making up more than half of the country’s power generation and power consumption for the first time ever, preliminary estimated by industry groups showed on Monday.

The share of renewables in Germany’s electricity consumption rose by 5 percentage points compared to last year, per the estimates by the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research, ZSW, and the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, BDEW.  

The share of renewable energy sources of Germany’s gross electricity generation reached almost 53% this year, compared to 44% last year, the associations said.

“The numbers show that we are on the right track,” said Kerstin Andreae, Chairwoman of the BDEW Executive Board.

“Many people once believed that renewables only accounted for a single-digit share of electricity consumption, but today we use more electricity from renewable sources than from conventional sources and have our sights firmly set on 100 percent renewables,” Andreae added.

Renewable energy sources are expected to generate more than 50% of Germany’s electricity this year, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a conference back in September.

However, the minister from the Green party who is also responsible for climate action, warned that Europe’s biggest economy needs to accelerate the rollout of green energy to meet its climate targets to 2030 and beyond.

By 2030, Germany aims to have renewables account for 80% of its electricity generation, Habeck said.

“We won't get there at the current pace,” the minister added.

In the first half of 2023, renewables accounted for around 52% of Germany’s gross electricity consumption, data by BDEW and ZSW showed at the end of June. The share rose by 3 percentage points compared to the same period last year when renewables accounted for 49% of Germany’s power consumption.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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