Renewables pass coal as Germany's main energy source: Study

Renewables overtook coal as Germany’s main source of energy for the first time last year, accounting for just over 40 percent of electricity production, according to a Reuters report.

Germany is aiming for 65% share for renewables by 2030. It seeks to abandon nuclear power by 2022 and is devising plans for coal exit. A Fraunhofer study showed that generation from solar, wind, biomass and hydro rose 4.3% last year to produce 219 TWh out of a total of 542 Twh. Coal accounted for 38% in this.

Green energy’s share of Germany’s power production has risen from 38.2 percent in 2017 and just 19.1 percent in 2010.

Bruno Burger, author of the Fraunhofer study, said it was set to stay above 40 percent this year.

“We will not fall below the 40 percent in 2019 because more renewable installations are being built and weather patterns will not change that dramatically,” he said.

Green power skeptics say that output merely reflects favorable weather patterns and does not prove the sector’s contribution to secure energy supplies.