Enlarge image
Wind farm on the Swabian Alb: a big plus
Photo: Arnulf Hettrich / IMAGO
The share of electricity from renewable sources increased significantly in the first quarter thanks to the stormy weather and an above-average number of hours of sunshine.
Compared to the same period last year, almost 25 percent more electricity was generated from sun and wind, as reported by the Federal Association of Energy and Water Management (BDEW) and the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW).
This increase is due "above all to the favorable weather conditions for power generation from wind and sun at the beginning of the year".
The first two months of the year in particular were "unusually windy," explained BDEW and ZSW.
The stormy weather in February, when several severe winter storms swept across Germany, even made for a new record month with 20.6 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in electricity generation from wind energy.
According to preliminary calculations, a total of around 74.5 billion kWh of electricity was generated from renewable energies in the first quarter.
Green electricity share in January and February at 54 percent
In January and February, renewables thus covered 54 percent of total electricity consumption.
For comparison: According to the Federal Statistical Office, in 2021 as a whole, 42.4 percent of the electricity generated in Germany and fed into the power grid came from renewable sources.
BDEW boss Kerstin Andreae, in view of the concerns about the energy supply because of the Ukraine war, emphasized how important it was "quickly to become independent of fossil fuels and thus also of Russian imports".
However, the high proportion of renewables in the first few months of this year "should not hide the fact that the expansion of renewables is proceeding far too slowly," she criticized.
Measures to massively advance the expansion of renewables are "more urgent than ever," demanded Andreae.
"We need faster planning and approval procedures and more space for wind turbines and photovoltaic systems." It is "good that the federal government has announced that it will make two percent of the space in Germany available for the generation of wind energy," added the BDEW boss .
"But it must also be ensured that wind turbines are actually built on these areas." Far too often projects fail during the approval process.
mic/AFP
