Renewable energy accounted for almost 60% of all electricity generation in Germany in the first quarter of the year, marking the highest record since tracking started in 2018.
Germany sets new renewable energy record in Q1
According to Germany Trade & Invest, Germany’s renewable energy generation reached an astounding share of 58.4% of the overall electricity produced from January to March 2024.
This generation rate represents a notable growth compared to any quarter since a tracker of this kind started monitoring energy consumption data in 2018 in Germany.
“Never before has so much renewably generated energy been produced and fed into the grid in Germany. Almost 60 percent climate-friendly electricity shows that the expansion of wind and solar capacities continues to bear fruit, and that Germany is on the way toward climate neutrality.”
Germany Trade & Invest Director of Energy, Building and Environmental Technologies Thomas Grigoleit
Leap in renewables pushes down on coal and gas consumption
According to the report, renewables generated an astounding 121.5 billion kilowatt hours of energy in Germany in Q1 2024. It indicates a notable increase of 11.6% year-on-year.
In contrast, fossil fuel energy generation saw a huge decline of 25.4% in the same period. In effect, it accounted for just 41.6% of the country’s total electricity production.
Wind power generation increased 12% YoY to an additional 5 billion kWh. It accounted for 38.5% of Germany’s electricity production.
Likewise, solar energy enjoyed a notable increase of 21% to 1.4 billion kWh. In the first quarter of the year, it contributed 6.6% of the country’s electricity generation.
Paving the way for sustainable power
The remarkable growth of renewable energy production and consumption in Germany marks a significant advancement in its efforts to shift to sustainable power.
Germany aims to cut at least 65% of its greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade compared to 1990 levels under the Climate Protection Act.
“If we stay on course, we will achieve our climate targets for 2030. For the first time ever the numbers show Germany is on track.”
German Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck said on Friday
The country seeks to reduce its emissions by 88% by 2040 and gradually achieve carbon neutrality within five years.
“If we continue to work hard on it now and continue until 2030, climate neutrality can be achieved by 2040.”
UBA President Dirk Messner
However, the German government must intensify its initiatives to promote the adoption of clean energy to meet its set targets. For context, the country’s transport and building sectors fell short of their emission goals last year, putting the 2030 targets in jeopardy.
