The majority of electricity consumption in Germany is now covered by renewable energies. In the first nine months the proportion was around 56 percent. But experts still see problems.
The share of renewable energies in electricity generation continues to rise: in the first three quarters, electricity, primarily from wind power, sunlight, biomass and hydropower, covered a total of around 56 percent of electricity consumption. This emerges from projections by the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry (BDEW). Last year the nine-month figure was just over 52 percent.
According to the calculations, renewable energies have covered the majority of electricity consumption in every month of 2024 so far – with shares between 53 and 59 percent. According to projections, gross electricity generation from renewables increased by 8.3 percent to 217 billion kilowatt hours.
10.5 percent less electricity from coal and gas
Solar energy in particular increased: at around 65 billion kilowatt hours, 15 percent more solar power was generated in the first three quarters than in the same period last year. In contrast, gross electricity generation from conventional energy sources coal and natural gas fell by 10.5 percent to 149 billion kilowatt hours.
“The fact that more than every second kilowatt hour of electricity consumed in Germany is now renewable shows that we are on the right track,” explained the chairwoman of the BDEW board, Kerstin Andreae.
There is a backlog in network expansion and storage
In order to be able to fully use green electricity, the development of storage systems and network expansion are crucial. Hydrogen-capable gas power plants are also needed, says Andreae. “Electricity generation from wind and sun is not constant. We need secure power for times when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing.”
Despite recent progress shows a current study by the Bertelsmann Foundationthat Germany lags behind other European countries in its climate protection efforts, including in electricity generation. The examples of Denmark and Norway show that it is fundamentally possible to “achieve complete decarbonization by the middle of the century,” according to the study. Germany and Great Britain, on the other hand, are “not yet on track to complete their transition to green electricity, heat and road transport in a timely manner”.
When switching to green electricity, Germany is being “slowed down by inadequately developed electricity networks,” explained the foundation. “For progress, official targets for the expansion of distribution networks and electricity storage capacities as well as improved target coordination in the area of transmission networks would be needed.”