Windless Quarter in Germany: Conventional Power Overtops Renewables for First Time in Two Years
Traditional energy sources exceed renewables after a two-year gap.
Let's get real, folks. Germany's energy landscape has seen a major switcheroo in the first quarter of 2025. After two years of relying predominantly on renewable energy, conventional power generation has surpassed the renewable front, and that's no joke. Thanks to a windless quarter, wind power took a nosedive by a whopping 29.2%, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
As a consequence, renewable energy production between Jan and March dropped by a substantial 17.0% compared to the previous year. But, here's the funny part! Coal, natural gas, and friends raked in a 19.3% increase. So, where did all that electricity come from? A total of 119.4 billion kilowatt-hours were produced and sent to the grid, representing a minor 1.9% dip compared to the start of 2024. And guess which group of fuels made up the majority of that production? You guessed it – good ol' fossil fuels (50.5%)! That's a considerable jump from the previous year's 41.5%.
Even though the overall renewable energy declined, wind power managed to hold onto its top spot as the leading energy source for electricity generation with a 27.8% share. Hot on its heels was coal, gobbling up 27.0% of the pie. Natural gas made a significant leap to 20.6%, and solar photovoltaic, UV-powered panels, climbed by over a third to account for 9.2% of the total mix. Biogas and hydropower made up 6.1% and 3.8% respectively.
Interestingly, Germany boosted its electricity imports by 14.9% to 19.3 billion kilowatt-hours during the first quarter. At the same time, exports dropped by three percent to 16.2 billion kilowatt-hours.
So why the windless woes? Turns out, it was an unusually calm first quarter causing the plunge in wind power output. The lower wind speeds affected the electricity generated from wind turbines, and indirectly reduced the overall renewable energy share. Oh, and funny enough, while some companies continued to pump resources into renewable projects (like PNE AG expanding its portfolio despite the smaller wind volumes), Mother Nature remained the puppet master influencing the generation's rhythm[1]. Even the expansion of solar PV capacity stalled, but its effects didn't hit the quarterly figures as hard as the wind problems did[5].
In essence, Germany's renewables dealt a squeaky-bum time in Q1 2025, all thanks to those darn low wind speeds, which crippled wind power production and elevated the dependence on dirty fuels[3][4][1].
[1] Renewables Now - "German onshore wind power output drops 21.5% in Q1"
[3] RTS - "Germany's Renewable Energy Output Takes a Hit*"
[4] ntv.de - "Less Wind: Conventional Power Generation Surpasses Renewable Energy in Germany for the First Time in Two Years"
[5] Inside Climate News - "Solar PV Deployment Stalls Worldwide Amid Energy Transition Hurdles"
- Despite the windless Quarter in Germany causing a drop in renewable energy production, particularly wind power, there's growing investment in renewable energy projects, such as PNE AG expanding its portfolio.
- Science and environmental-science play a crucial role in understanding climate-change impacts on renewable energy sources like wind power, helping to develop more efficient energy policies.
- The community policy could be revised to encourage more renewable energy production, such as implementing financial incentives for the renewable-energy industry to invest in technologies that minimize the impact of weather conditions on energy generation.
- A comprehensive energy policy considering the environmental, scientific, and financial aspects is essential to support the transition from conventional fossil fuels to cleaner renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydropower, contributing to mitigating climate-change risks.
