Electricity consumption covered to over 50 per cent by sustainable energies

According to the provisional figures for the first half of 2023 calculated by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) and the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW), the percentage of renewable energies in Germany's electricity consumption was around 52 per cent, a full 3 percentage points higher than in the same half of 2022, when it was 49 per cent.

Due to the many sunny days, May 2023 stands out in particular with a share of energy from sustainable sources of 57 percent. The amount of electricity generated with 8.8 billion kWh is thus the highest ever generated with photovoltaic systems. An even higher share of 62 percent was only achieved in February 2022, although this was due to the unusually high feed-ins from wind energy. At the time of writing, even higher amounts of electricity generated from photovoltaics were forecast for the month of June.

There is a shortage of skilled workers

In this context, Kerstin Andreae, who is Chairwoman of the Executive Board of BDEW, points out the historical dimension of the development towards renewable energies. At the same time, she emphasises the importance of the labour factor. For the goal of full climate neutrality by 2045 requires, in addition to an appropriate regulatory framework, above all skilled workers. This applies to all sectors and areas of sustainable energy production, which is why there are already various initiatives to address the shortage of skilled workers. One possibility is to address young people, especially women, one example being "AllesWasserVolt", a training initiative to address, inform and inspire young people for the energy transition.

Ambitious goals

The fact that there is a shortage of skilled workers becomes clear at the latest when one realises that the declared goal of climate neutrality by 2045 requires a complete conversion to renewable energies already ten years earlier, i.e. in 2035. This is explained by the Executive Director of the ZSW, Prof. Dr. Frithjof Staiß. This fact in turn, Staiß says, means that the expansion of the grid and infrastructure will have to take place at a much faster pace than before. This is why the federal government is pushing ahead with the digitalisation of procedures in the area of grid expansion, and it has also given priority to renewable energies. Achieving the aforementioned goals thus requires a considerable acceleration of the pace for all parties involved: both for the development of the technologies required for electricity generation and for the infrastructures at the level of the distribution grids. Another issue in this context is hydrogen technologies - on the one hand, they are generally intended to serve as a safety buffer, and on the other hand, they are intended for specific use during power peaks.

The numbers in detail

Gross electricity generation in the months January to June 2023 was 266 billion kWh, a decrease of about 11 per cent compared to the same period last year (298 billion kWh). In contrast, consumption was approximately 263 billion kWh, compared to 281 billion kWh in the first half of the previous year. The 160 billion kWh of electricity generated from conventional energy sources in the first half of 2022 compares with "only" 128 billion kWh in the current annual period. The remaining almost 138 billion kWh, which come from sustainable sources, are distributed among the different green energy sources as follows:

• Onshore wind: 58 billion kWh,
• Wind at sea: 12 billion kWh,
• Photovoltaics: 33 billion kWh,
• Biomass: 22 billion kWh and
• Hydropower: 10 billion kWh.

Green electricity share: two variants of calculation

The above-mentioned 52 percent for the first half of 2023, which corresponds to the share of renewable energies in gross electricity consumption in Germany, can be calculated in two different ways. On the one hand, the share of sustainable energies in gross electricity consumption can be measured. This corresponds to the usual basis for calculation, which is based on EU specifications and is in line with the targets that the Federal Government has set itself in connection with the expansion of renewable energies.

Another way to calculate the share of green electricity is through gross electricity generation. This includes the total amount of electricity generated in Germany, including the share of exported electricity. A calculation in this way also yields approx. 52 percent.

Source: elektronikpraxis.de, Thomas Kuther , 28.06.2023
Image: PublicDomainPictures at Pixabay