Germany’s Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) reports that renewable energy supplied nearly 21% of the country’s electricity during the first half of 2011.
Wind, biomass, solar, and hydro power plants generated 57 TWh during the first six months of the year, amounting to 20.8% of supply. Solar photovoltaic (solar PV) systems on rooftops of homes, farms, and factories generated 3.5% of the national supply, exceeding for the first time the quantity of electricity, 3.3%, produced by conventional hydroelectric power plants.
Wind generators produced 7.5% of Germany’s supply, and biomass 5.6%. For comparison, 57 TWh would have been sufficient to provide nearly 40% of California’s electricity consumption during the first six months of 2011.
This affirmation of the achievements of Germany’s renewable power promoters comes at an interesting juncture. BDEW is led by Hildegard Müller, a political ally of Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel and a one-time leading figure in the CDU, Germany’s ruling conservative party. Müller and the BDEW have become increasingly vocal in their support for more renewable energy development in Germany. In April this year, following the Fukishima disaster, Müller publicly called on Angela Merkel and the CDU to abandon nuclear power no later than 2023.
