Renewables: staying on course

13 June 2017



The share of electricity generated from the sun, wind and other renewables accounted for 32% of gross electricity consumption in Germany in the first quarter of 2017, according to an assessment from the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research in Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW). The share of renewables was up 4% from the same quarter in the previous year, rising from 48.1 TWh to 50.1 TWh.


The share of electricity generated from the sun, wind and other renewables accounted for 32% of gross electricity consumption in Germany in the first quarter of 2017, according to an assessment from the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research in Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW). The share of renewables was up 4% from the same quarter in the previous year, rising from 48.1 TWh to 50.1 TWh.

Offshore wind power saw the steepest growth, increasing by 36.7% from the same period of the previous year to 4.8 TWh (Q1 2016: 3.5 TWh). Electricity generated by photovoltaic systems also increased significantly, rising by 29% to 6 TWh (4.6 TWh). Onshore wind power, the leading source of renewable energy, was up 3.1% to 22.4 TWh.

Hydroelectric power was the only renewable to experience a fall. Production dropped by 31.3%, to 3.7 TWh, from Q1 in the previous year (5.3 TWh) owing to low rainfall early in the year.

A breakdown of electric power generated from other renewables was as follows: biomass increased by 2.1% to 11.7 TWh (11.5 TWh); municipal solid waste was up 3.7% to 1.5 TWh (1.4 TWh), and geothermal energy dropped by 2.5% to 0.041 TWh (0.042 TWh).

“To avoid losing public support for the Energiewende, we have got to get costs under control. The results of the first round of tendering for offshore wind power [see pp 20-22] go to show that we are on the right track with the EEG 2017,” said Stefan Kapferer, Chairman of BDEW’s general executive management board. 



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