Renewables cover 56% of Germany’s power consumption in first quarter of the year, utilities say

Renewable energy sources covered around 56 percent of electricity consumption in Germany in the first three months of the year, according to preliminary calculations by the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and utility association BDEW. “In total, renewable energy plants generated around 75.9 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity from January to March, around nine percent more than in the same period last year,” BDEW said. Onshore wind energy plants alone produced 39.4 billion kWh of electricity, covering more than a quarter of demand.

“The recent steady rise in the share of renewables in electricity consumption shows that we are on the right track,” BDEW head Kerstin Andreae said. “The expansion of renewable energies has recently increased significantly. This is now being reflected in electricity generation.” Germany aims to have a renewable electricity share of 80 percent by 2030 and a largely decarbonised power supply by 2035. Andreae said a further push is needed to reach the climate targets, adding that the solar package approved by parliament on Friday (26 April) contained important instruments to further accelerate the expansion of both photovoltaics and onshore wind energy. “The planned measures must now be implemented quickly. In addition, the expansion and conversion of the grids must be driven forward so that green electricity reaches consumers,” Andreae said.