New records set for German renewables

Renewable energy accounted for over 41 per cent of Germany’s power supply for the month of March, generating a record 19.5 terawatt-hours (TWh). 

Yet another wind power record was set by the nation last month, with production peaking at 38.5 gigawatts (GW) on 18 March – narrowly surpassing the previous record of 38 GW set on 22 February.

While March was not a record breaking month for individual renewable sectors – the monthly record for wind was set back in December 2015 at 11.2 TWh and solar back in July 2015 at 5.5 TWh – it was the highest recorded level for combined renewable energy.

The high level of renewables in the nation’s power mix was largely due to higher levels of wind and solar production – accounting for around 12.5 TWh of the total 19.5 TWh.

While biomass reported 4.5 TWh for March 2017, just shy of its 4.8 TWh figure recorded in December 2014.

In contrast, nuclear power fell to its lowest level in decades despite no nuclear plants being retired since 2015.

In addition to the record breaking monthly record for March, renewables accounted for 51 per cent of Germany’s electricity generation last week – according to the latest data.

Wind accounted for 29.4 per cent of all electricity generation for the week, providing the most amount of power from any energy source – while solar stood at 8.6 per cent.

The news follows the announcement that Germany is converting a coal mine into giant renewable battery, which will store enough renewable energy to power some 400,000 homes.

The Prosper-Haniel pit in the state of North Rhine Westphalia will become a 200 megawatt (MW) pumped-storage hydroelectric reservoir – work is scheduled to begin when the mine closes in 2018. 

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