Renewable sources are predicted to account for one-third of all electricity used in Germany in 2015.
An initial estimate by the Centre for solar energy and hydrogen research (ZSW) and the German association of energy and water industries (BDEW) shows that wind, solar and other renewable sources will have generated 193bn kWh of electricity during 2015, up from 161bn in 2014 and representing 27% of gross electricity consumption in that year.
ZSW and BDEW said there had been a marked increase in electricity produced by wind power and photovoltaic systems.
Wind turbines generated 63bn kWh of energy in the 12 months to October 31 2015, an increase of 47% on the year before.
Solar systems produced 35bn kWh in the first 10 months of 2015, the same as in the whole of 2014.
BDEW Chairwoman Hildegard Muller said: “Once again it is clearly evident that renewable energies continue to gain ground in the German electricity mix, regardless of what the exact percentage share at the year’s end will be.
“This makes the need to integrate renewable energies into the overall power generation system all the more pressing. Efforts to put in place the necessary infrastructure must be stepped up with some urgency.”
ZSW Managing Director Frithjof Staiß said: “If renewable energies are now covering a third of the demand for electricity, then this element of the Energy Transition is clearly on a promising path. Nevertheless, electricity, heating and mobility have to be interconnected more closely and optimized as an integrated system.”
Image: German wind farm (Nordex)
