The Daily Populous Sunday January 5th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by pv-magazine.com and submitted by ahothabeth

Germany generated 72.2 TWh of solar power in 2024, accounting for 14% of its total electricity output, according to Fraunhofer ISE. Wind power remained Germany's largest source of electricity in 2024, generating 136.4 TWh.

PV generation set a production record of 72.2 TWh in 2024, despite less favorable weather, due to the rapid expansion of solar capacity. Fraunhofer ISE's “Energy Charts” report shows that 12.4 TWh of this total was used for solar self-consumption, marking an 18% year-on-year increase and raising the share of PV in electricity generation to 14%. July was the record month, with solar systems producing 10.7 TWh.

Hydropower also saw a slight increase, contributing 21.7 TWh in 2024. Total renewable energy generation reached 275.2 TWh, up 4.4% from 2023. Biomass plants, with an installed capacity of 9.1 GW, generated 36 TWh of electricity.

Generation from coal-fired power plants declined sharply in Germany in 2024, with lignite production dropping 8.4% and hard coal falling 27.6%, according to Energy Charts. Lignite-fired plants produced 71.1 TWh, roughly matching the total output from photovoltaic systems, while hard coal plants generated 24.2 TWh. Natural gas production increased 9.5% year-on-year to 48.4 TWh, with an additional 25.6 TWh used for industrial self-supply.

Germany's CO2 emissions continued their downward trend, falling to 152 million tons in 2024, a 58% reduction from 1990 levels and more than half of 2014 levels. Grid load reached 462 TWh, slightly exceeding 2023 figures, reflecting higher overall electricity consumption. This data excludes PV self-consumption, pumped-hydro usage, and conventional power plant self-consumption.

Battery storage capacity saw substantial growth, with installed capacity rising from 8.6 GW to 12.1 GW and associated energy storage increasing from 12.7 GWh to 17.7 GWh. Germany’s battery storage capacity now surpasses pumped storage by approximately 10 GW, underscoring the shift toward renewable energy integration.

Electricity imports also rose to 24.9 TWh, driven by lower generation costs in neighboring countries during summer. France (12.9 TWh), Denmark (12.0 TWh), Switzerland (7.1 TWh), and Norway (5.8 TWh) were Germany's top electricity suppliers, while Germany exported power primarily to Austria (7.4 TWh), Poland (3.5 TWh), Luxembourg (3.5 TWh), and the Czech Republic (2.8 TWh).

Electricity prices on the exchange surged in November and December, making fossil fuel power plants more profitable and reducing imports. Energy Charts noted that Germany has sufficient capacity to produce and export electricity during winter, unlike Austria, Switzerland, and France, which face seasonal shortfalls.

Deep_Head4645 on January 5th, 2025 at 17:18 UTC »

If only my country would be as efficient in going renewable

Instead were stuck because all our politics are dominated by foreign policy

Siltonage on January 5th, 2025 at 15:53 UTC »

Imagine how good it could have been if we didnt destroy our domestic solar panel market by cutting subsidies.

Agent_03 on January 5th, 2025 at 15:48 UTC »

> Germany's CO2 emissions continued their downward trend, falling to 152 million tons in 2024, a 58% reduction from 1990 levels and more than half of 2014 levels. Grid load reached 462 TWh, slightly exceeding 2023 figures, reflecting higher overall electricity consumption. This data excludes PV self-consumption, pumped-hydro usage, and conventional power plant self-consumption.

WOW. That's a huge emissions reduction from fast adoption of renewables! Wonder if more countries will follow this path and deliver fast emissions cuts.