Preliminary balance sheet
More electricity from renewables again
The share of renewable energies in electricity consumption will increase again in 2024. The preliminary data from the Federal Environment Agency show: Electricity from solar energy in particular is booming.
The share of green electricity in gross electricity consumption is expected to rise to a new high of 54 percent this year. That would be 1.5 percentage points more than in the previous year, said the office of the Renewable Energy Statistics Working Group at the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). A record value of 52.5 percent had already been reached in 2023. For the first time, more than half of Germany’s electricity consumption was covered by renewable energy. In 2022 the share was 46.3 percent.
According to the data, electricity generation from renewable sources, primarily wind and solar energy, is expected to increase by four percentage points to around 285 terawatt hours this year. Wind energy and photovoltaics therefore provide more than three quarters of the renewable electricity in Germany. According to UBA information, this is a preliminary balance sheet. The authority will present the final figures for 2024 in March.
More energy required and more speed required
Despite the progress, UBA President Dirk Messner called for a faster pace in the expansion of renewable energies. “Despite a positive development in electricity generation, we still have to do more overall,” said Messner, pointing out that 80 percent of electricity needs should be covered by renewable sources by the end of the decade. The increasing electrification of the heating sector and transport will further increase the demand for electricity.
According to the information, electricity generation from photovoltaic systems increased particularly significantly: by 16 percent to an estimated 74 terawatt hours. Electricity generation from wind energy, on the other hand, was around the same level as the previous year at around 141 terawatt hours.
In addition to sun and wind, biomass, hydropower and geothermal systems also provided renewable electricity. Electricity generation from these systems increased by around two percent overall in 2024 compared to the previous year. The contribution of these energy sources together was around a quarter of renewable electricity.
dpa
Source: Stern
