Gas-fired power generation reaches record high in Germany

Power production from natural gas rose to an all-time high in Germany last year, overtaking hard coal electricity generation for the first time, according to a Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung report based on figures from utility association BDEW. While gas power generation rose more than 10 percent to 91 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in 2019, hard coal generation dropped nearly 31 percent to around 57 billion kWh. The increase made gas the third most important source for energy production after lignite (brown coal), which fell almost 22 percent to around 114 billion kWh, and onshore wind, which rose almost 12 percent to reach more than 101 billion kWh.

BDEW said the increased use of gas contributed significantly to the drop in Germany's CO2 output last year. The switch from other fossil fuels lowered emissions by six million tonnes, representing 12 percent of the entire decrease, the association said. BDEW head Kerstin Andreae told the paper that gas is key for climate protection and a necessary supplement to renewable energies, adding that Germany will have to increasingly replace natural gas with green gases like hydrogen or biomethane in order to reach its climate targets.