In the first half of 2024, Germany set a new record for renewable electricity generation, producing 140 terawatt hours (TWh) of green power, which accounted for 65% of the net public electricity generation. This marked a significant increase from previous years, as detailed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE based on data from energy-charts.info.
The shift towards renewables has been accompanied by a continued decline in generation from fossil fuels and a decrease in electricity prices on the exchange.
Wind energy remained the dominant source of electricity, generating 73.4 TWh compared to 66.8 TWh in the same period of 2023. This represented 34.1% of the net public electricity generation, with onshore wind contributing 59.5 TWh and offshore wind 13.8 TWh. Photovoltaic (PV) systems also saw a significant increase, feeding 32.4 TWh into the grid, up 15% from 28.2 TWh in the first half of the previous year. Hydropower generation rose from 8.9 TWh in 2023 to 11.3 TWh in 2024, while biomass generation slightly decreased from 21.6 TWh to 20.8 TWh.
Overall, the total electricity generated from renewable sources reached 140 TWh, setting a new record and increasing the renewable share in the load (which includes electricity consumption and grid losses) to 60%, up from 55.7% in the first half of 2023. This milestone reflects Germany’s ongoing commitment to transitioning to a greener energy mix.
On the other hand, the share of electricity generated from fossil fuels hit an all-time low. Total electricity production in the first half of 2024 was 215 TWh, down from 222 TWh in the same period in 2023. The proportion of fossil fuels in the energy mix fell from 39.6% to 35.0%, with only 75 TWh generated from coal, natural gas, oil, and non-renewable waste, marking the lowest levels ever recorded. Since 2015, renewable electricity generation has increased by 56%, while fossil fuel generation has decreased by 46%.
Germany’s electricity load increased by 1.8%, reaching 233 TWh in the first half of 2024, up from 229 TWh in the same period the previous year. Despite this increase in demand, the country managed to maintain a significant renewable energy contribution.
The balance of electricity imports and exports also shifted. In the first half of 2024, Germany had a net import surplus of 11.3 TWh, a significant change from a net export surplus of 0.8 TWh during the same period in 2023. Electricity imports mainly came from Scandinavia, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands, driven by lower prices from wind and hydropower in Scandinavia. Conversely, Germany exported electricity to Austria, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, and Poland.
Electricity exchange prices fell sharply, dropping from 100.54 EUR/MWh to 67.94 EUR/MWh. Dr. Bruno Burger, the lead scientist for the Energy Charts at Fraunhofer ISE, noted that this decrease in exchange electricity prices will eventually benefit private and industrial end customers. The price of natural gas also fell significantly, from 44.99 EUR/MWh to 29.71 EUR/MWh, approaching pre-Ukraine war levels. The cost of CO2 emission allowances decreased from 86.96 to 63.60 euros per ton of CO2.
Despite strong growth in solar PV capacity, with 6.2 GW installed by the end of May 2024 and a planned total expansion of 12.5 GW for the year, the expansion of wind power lagged behind targets. Only 0.8 GW of new onshore wind capacity and 0.2 GW offshore were added in the first half of 2024, far short of the targets of 7 GW onshore and 1 GW offshore. Brandenburg led in installed wind and solar PV capacity per inhabitant.
The expansion of electrical energy storage continued, with 1.8 GW of storage systems and a capacity of 2.5 GWh connected to the grid in the first half of 2024. The total installed capacity of battery storage reached 9.9 GW, equal to that of pumped storage, with battery storage capacity at 14.4 GWh compared to pumped storage at 40 GWh.
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