Yves right here. This submit highlights the truth that Germany’s obvious enchancment in its inexperienced transition is just not fairly what’s appears. Regardless that the proportion of whole power consumption offered by renewable sources has elevated, it seems that that enchancment is due in massive measure to a fall in demand from business. The rise in clear power manufacturing 12 months to 12 months has been comparatively modest.
Amusingly, the article acknowledges that larger power prices are the rationale for flagging manufacturing output, however curiously by no means mentions the destruction of the Nord Stream 2 pipelines and the Russian sanctions because the trigger. Within the meantime, OilPrice at the moment additionally prominently options one other story, European Reliance on Russian Fuel Persists Regardless of Sanctions.
By Tsvetana Paraskova, a author for Oilprice.com with over a decade of expertise writing for information shops reminiscent of iNVEZZ and SeeNews. Initially revealed at OilPrice
- Germany is making progress in boosting the share of renewable power sources in its energy provide.
- The big lower to fossil fuel-powered technology was principally because of decrease whole energy output.
- The grid is getting greener and emissions from the facility sector are falling, however these developments have been primarily pushed by anemic financial progress and weak business in Europe’s largest economic system.
Germany is making progress in boosting the share of renewable power sources in its energy provide, nevertheless it needs to be applauded with a cautionary word as a result of the majority of that progress is due to weaker electrical energy demand amid sluggish industrial exercise.
Energy suppliers have drastically lower their whole electrical energy output from fossil fuels to this point this 12 months. But, this discount hasn’t been offset by an analogous leap in technology from renewable power sources, suggesting that the weak energy demand is the motive force of decrease total energy output and diminished fossil gas technology in Europe’s largest economic system.
Germany’s energy producers noticed fossil gas electrical energy manufacturing drop by 19% within the first half of this 12 months in comparison with the identical interval of 2023, in keeping with LSEG information cited by Reuters columnist Gavin Maguire.
Nevertheless, renewables energy technology elevated solely by 2.1%
The big lower to fossil fuel-powered technology was principally because of decrease whole energy output, which was down 6% year-over-year between January and June 2024 amid decrease electrical energy demand with weak industrial exercise.
A rebound in mentioned exercise would increase energy demand in Germany, and its energy corporations might should resort to extra pure gas-fired technology, offsetting a number of the progress in clear power provide to the grid.
Final 12 months, wind energy overtook coal to grow to be Germany’s largest supply of electrical energy, in keeping with clear power suppose tank Ember.
Germany relied on fossil fuels for 46% of its electrical energy final 12 months; nonetheless, the one largest supply of electrical energy was wind with a 27.2% share, forward of coal with 26.8%.
Since 2015, Germany’s falls in nuclear – phased out in 2023 – and coal technology have been principally met by larger wind and photo voltaic technology alongside internet electrical energy imports and gas-fired technology, Ember’s European Electrical energy Assessment 2024 confirmed earlier this 12 months.
Germany put in record-high energy capability from photo voltaic and wind in 2023, however solely photo voltaic additions met authorities targets, whereas wind energy installations fell wanting objectives. The brand new photo voltaic capability is on observe to satisfy the federal government’s 2030 objectives. Wind energy additionally noticed a rise in wind energy tenders, which awarded a record-high whole energy capability of 6.4 GW final 12 months, information from wind energy affiliation BWE confirmed on the finish of 2023. Sadly, these had been wanting the ten GW annual objective.
Whereas the share of renewable power sources in Germany’s gross electrical energy technology reached 53% in 2023, up from 44% in 2022, the nation must speed up photo voltaic, wind, and battery capability installations to have renewables account for 80% of its electrical energy technology by 2030.
The grid is getting greener and emissions from the facility sector are falling, however these developments have been primarily pushed by anemic financial progress and weak business in Europe’s largest economic system.
The excessive power prices have been a key motive for weak manufacturing and industrial exercise in Germany over the previous two years. Power-intensive industries, particularly chemical compounds and fertilizers, have been hit the toughest.
“No different sector has been hit more durable by the “new power world” (decrease absolute gasoline imports and better power costs in comparison with pre-war ranges and in comparison with the US and China) than the chemical business,” Deutsche Financial institution Analysis mentioned in February this 12 months, saying that the decline in Germany’s industrial manufacturing “is just not over but.”
The Federation of German Industries, BDI, is just not optimistic for the close to time period, both.
Germany’s manufacturing output fell by over 7% within the fourth quarter of 2023, in comparison with late 2019, earlier than the outbreak of the pandemic, the business physique mentioned in a report in Could. The BDI expects industrial manufacturing in Germany to proceed downward and contract by one other 1.5% in 2024 year-over-year. Within the two earlier years, industrial manufacturing had fallen by 0.5% yearly.
“The German business has nearly misplaced a decade’s value of progress in manufacturing,” BDI mentioned.
This weak industrial efficiency, partly because of excessive power prices, has contributed to the decline in Germany’s electrical energy consumption. When industrial exercise recovers, German energy producers might should crank up fossil fuel-fired energy crops to satisfy demand.
