Sun and wind displace Germany's coal during summer months

Solar power systems and wind turbines in Germany fed 39.3 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity into the public grid from June to August, a 10 percent increase compared to the same period last year, news agency dpa writes in an article carried by Focus Online, citing a report by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. By contrast, lignite and hard coal power plant produced significantly less electricity than in the summer of 2018, Fraunhofer ISE said.

Solar power generation totalled 19.3 TWh from June to August, 4 percent more than in 2018. Wind power generation increased nearly 20 percent year to year, with turbines supplying just under 20 TWh of electricity over the same period. Wind in July was much stronger than in the same month last year, resulting in the strong upsurge. The increase in solar power generation has resulted from the addition of new solar systems with a combined 2 gigawatt (GW) capacity in the first half of 2019, according to think tank Agora Energiewende*.

*Like the Clean Energy Wire, Agora Energiewende is a project funded by Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.