Germany Boasts Record Renewable Capacity Additions in 2023

Germany installed a record-high power capacity from solar and wind in 2023, but only solar additions met government targets, while wind power installations fell short of goals.
Booming residential demand resulted in the installation of over a million new solar power systems with a combined capacity of 14 GW in 2023, an 85% surge year-over-year, according to data from solar power association BSW cited by Reuters.
The new solar capacity is on track to meet the government’s 2030 goals.
Wind power also saw an increase in wind power tenders, which awarded a record-high total power capacity of 6.4 GW last year, data from wind power association BWE showed last week.
But these were short of the 10 GW annual goal.
Germany needs more regulations and laws to facilitate grid access and wind power installation, BWE president Bärbel Heidebroek said in a statement.
Renewable energy sources accounted for nearly 52% of Germany’s gross electricity consumption this year, making up more than half of the country’s power generation and power consumption for the first time ever, preliminary estimated by industry groups showed last month.
The share of renewables in Germany’s electricity consumption rose by 5 percentage points compared to last year, per the estimates by the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research, ZSW, and the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, BDEW.
The share of renewable energy sources of Germany’s gross electricity generation reached almost 53% this year, compared to 44% last year, the associations said.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck, the minister from the Green party who is also responsible for climate action, said at a conference in September that Europe’s biggest economy needs to accelerate the rollout of green energy to meet its climate targets to 2030 and beyond.
By 2030, Germany aims to have renewables account for 80% of its electricity generation, Habeck said.
“We won’t get there at the current pace,” the minister added.

About Parvin Faghfouri Azar

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