Germany's needs and costs for grid management down in 2024 – network agency

The volume and costs of measures required to manage the stability of Germany’s power grid decreased in 2024, the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has said. These so-called re-dispatch measures include curtailing renewables feed-in in one area while ramping production in another are - often in the form of fossil backup plant capacity - due to lacking grid connections. The volume of required re-dispatch measures fell by 12 percent, while lower fuel prices pushed costs down by 17 percent compared to the previous year.

As the year 2024 was less windy than the previous one, wind turbines curtailment decreased significantly (from 3,384 gigawatt hours throttled to 4,562 GWh). However, the curtailment of solar PV systems almost doubled compared to the previous year (to 1,389 GWh). BNetzA cited the expansion of installed capacity and the exceptionally high number of sunshine hours in the summer of 2024 as the main reasons. Overall, the curtailment of renewable energies still accounted for 3.5 percent of total renewable electricity generation, while 96.5 percent was fed into the grid and used by consumers.

Germany’s electricity system is increasingly shifting to fluctuating renewable energy sources as its main power generation technology, which is creating challenges for the country’s grid operators. Previously, conventional power was supplied to meet demand. Now, a change of weather can result in a sudden influx of electricity. Operators have to work hard to keep the grid stable through re-dispatch measures that ensure a balance is kept between electricity supply and demand to keep the transmission grid stable throughout the country. A particular hurdle in this respect are insufficient transmission grid connections between Germany’s windy north and energy-hungry industrial centres in the south, which the country is currently in the process of expanding to ensure a more efficient use of renewable power across all regions.