L R AS Published on Monday 15 January 2018 - n° 217 - Categories:Germany
In Germany in 2017, RE reached a record level with 36.1% of the electricity consumed.
In Germany in 2017, RE reached a record level with 36.1% of electricity supplied by wind, solar, biomass and hydropower. This is
3.8% higher than in 2016 due to sustained winds. For the first time, wind power generated more electricity than coal and nuclear power. These have fallen to the lowest level since 1990.
In contrast, greenhouse gas emissions stagnated at the same level for the third consecutive year instead of falling as expected. CO2 emissions increased in the transport, construction and industry sectors. The main reason for this is growing energy consumption: last year, 0.8% more energy (electricity, diesel and natural gas) was consumed than in 2016.
Electricity sales abroad have also increased: more than 60 terawatt-hours of electricity were exported in 2017, worth €1.4 billion. This corresponds to around 10 per cent of the electricity consumed in Germany. Germany offers the second best electricity prices in Europe.
Wholesale electricity prices in 2017 increased slightly compared to 2016 due to higher import prices for coal and natural gas. As a result, household electricity is expected to cost 1.4% more on average in 2018, which means that for the first time, a kilowatt-hour will cost more than €0.30. In contrast, the 2017 renewable energy auctions have resulted in a solar kWh costing less than €0.05, an onshore wind kWh less than €0.04 and an offshore wind kWh less than €0.02. RE is therefore cheaper than electricity produced by conventional power plants.
Agora Energiewende of 8 January 2018
