Electricity generation from hard coal in Germany rose by more than a fifth this year

German hard-coal plants had a stronger first half of the year than last year. Compared with the first half of last year, they supplied more than a fifth more electricity to the country’s grid. The increase in generation was driven not only by colder weather, but also by lower output from renewable sources. Although solar generation rose again, wind power performed significantly worse than last year.

Although Germany continues to increase its installed renewable capacity, particularly in solar and wind power, it still cannot do without fossil fuels. This is also borne out by electricity generation data for the first half of this year, which show that a growing number of renewable energy sources does not necessarily lead to higher green electricity output. This applies to wind power, whose generation fluctuates significantly more from year to year than that of solar sources.

While German hard-coal plants supplied 12,8 TWh of electricity to the country’s grid in the first half of last year, generation rose to 15,6 TWh this year. The one-fifth increase in generation was apparently driven primarily by lower output from onshore wind farms. They generated 60 TWh in the first half of last year, while output this year reached just 49 TWh.

Offshore wind generation was more stable, but at 11,5 TWh this year it nevertheless fell by 2,3 TWh year on year. By contrast, solar generation rose from 32,6 TWh last year to nearly 40 TWh this year.

According to the research group AGEB, which collects statistical data on Germany’s energy sector, the country’s energy consumption rose by 2,3 %. Overall coal consumption was little changed year on year, although trends varied across sectors. While coal-fired power plants consumed more coal this year than last, German steelmakers consumed less.