Germany trails China and US in installed renewables capacity – REN21 report
Clean Energy Wire
Germany trails China and the US in a global ranking of installed renewable power capacity. Excluding hydropower, capacity in Germany added up to 113 gigawatts (GW) in 2018, compared to 404 GW in China and 180 GW in the US, according to international renewable think tank REN21’s Global Status Report. When it comes to per capita capacity, Germany leads with 1.4 kilowatts (kW) per inhabitant, compared to 0.3 kW in China and 0.6 kW in the US.
Denmark tops REN21’s ranking of the countries with the highest share of variable renewables (wind and solar) in power generation, with little over 50 percent. Uruguay comes 2nd with around 35 percent, followed by Ireland (almost 30 percent) and Germany (around 25 percent).
Germany's total renewables share in gross power consumption rose to 37.8 percent in 2018. The government plans to increase it to 65 percent by 2030.