Renewable energies have once again provided significantly more than half of the electricity required. The energy association BDEW sees this as a main reason.
New half-year record for electricity generation from renewable energies: Electricity from wind, sunlight, biomass and hydropower covered around 58 percent of electricity consumption in Germany in the first half of 2024.
This is based on projections by the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), which were presented to the dpa on Monday.
In the first half of 2023, the share of renewable energies was still 52 percent. Gross domestic electricity consumption totaled 261 billion kilowatt hours, 0.3 percent below the previous year’s figure.
More than half from renewables
In the first half of the year, renewable energies covered more than half of the monthly electricity consumption every month, the BDEW stressed. Since April, they have had a monthly share of 59 percent.
“Photovoltaic systems in particular produced significantly more electricity than in the previous year, with a total of 37 billion kilowatt hours – also thanks to the record expansion in 2023,” the energy industry association noted.
In June 2024, PV systems generated more than 10 billion kilowatt hours of electricity within a month for the very first time. Hydropower also made an above-average contribution to electricity generation, with 12 billion kilowatt hours of electricity.
Most comes from onshore wind turbines
Of the 58 percent, 24 percentage points were accounted for by onshore wind generation, 14 percentage points by photovoltaics, 9 percentage points by biomass, 5 percentage points by hydropower, 5 percentage points by offshore wind energy and 1 percentage point by electricity generation from municipal waste.
The chairwoman of the BDEW Executive Board, Kerstin Andreae, described the figures as “a reward for the persistent expansion of wind energy and photovoltaics in recent years”.
Gas power plants necessary as plan B
The construction of hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants is now important. “Despite the encouraging figures, electricity generation from wind and solar is not constant. We need secure output for system services and times when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing,” said Andreae.
The record shows that a secure and greenhouse gas-neutral power supply based on almost 100 percent renewable energies including hydrogen can be achieved by 2035, explained ZSW board member Frithjof Staiß. This provides a stable foundation for the industry on its way to climate-neutral production.
Source: Stern
