“Energy consumption again increases slightly in 2016”

Germany’s energy consumption - and probably the country’s greenhouse gas emissions - increased slightly in 2016, says energy market research group AG Energiebilanzen (AGEB) in its report on energy consumption. The data confirms AGEB’s estimates from December 2016. Colder weather, 2016’s leap day, a growing economy, low prices for fossil fuels, and population growth led to a 1.1 percent rise in Germany’s primary energy consumption, compared to 2015. “There are actually doubts that the federal government’s goal to lower primary energy consumption by 20 percent by 2020, compared to 2008, will be reached – especially because 2016 did not contribute towards this goal,” writes AGEB. Electricity consumption remained almost stable (- 0.1 percent) in 2016. An increase in power demand is likely if the heating and transport sectors switch to electricity as their primary energy source in the future. It could make sense for Germany to reinterpret its goal to lower power consumption by 10 percent by 2020, compared to 2008, to refer only to “conventional” consumption, writes AGEB.

Read a press release in German here and the full report in German here.

Also read the CLEW article German carbon emissions rise in 2016 despite coal use drop.