Nearly 73% of Germany’s Power Needs to be met by Renewables by 2030

The share of renewables in Germany reached 53.4 percent of the country’s power capacity mix in 2018 and is expected to reach 72.7 percent by 2030

A new report has revealed that the share of renewables in Germany reached 53.4 percent of the country’s power capacity mix in 2018 and is expected to reach 72.7 percent by 2030, with non-hydro renewable energy expected to meet the country’s future power demand after nuclear and coal is phased out.

The findings were reported in GlobalData’s latest report, ‘Germany Power Market Outlook to 2030, Update 2019 – Market Trends, Regulations, and Competitive Landscape’. The report further revealed that in 2018, renewable energy dominated Germany’s power capacity mix followed by thermal, hydro and nuclear power with 53.4 percent, 36.9 percent, 5.2 percent and 4.4 percent shares respectively. In the non-hydro renewable energy mix, wind contributed a 51.4 percent share while solar photovoltaic (PV) a 39.4 percent share.

Piyali Das, Power Industry Analyst at GlobalData, said coal-fired and nuclear plants are soon to be phased out from the grid in Germany – nuclear power by 2022 and coal by 2038.

“The country is deploying a combination of renewable energy, reserve and gas-fired power plants, storage facilities, flexible loads and supply from international grids to maintain supply security.’’

The country will also continue to participate in renewable energy auctions to meet its energy demand, including renewable, cross-border and hybrid auctions. The ministry announced that for 2019-2021, it is planning to auction eight gigawatt (GW) of wind and solar capacity. In the first half of 2019, the country held seven auctions (including wind, solar and biomass) awarding a combined capacity of 2.3 GW.

“Abundance of renewable energy will affect the volatility of power pricing in the wholesale power market. However, investors will find opportunities in Germany’s renewable energy sector with the upgradation of the smart grid and the introduction of electric vehicles. Technology development for the remote monitoring of the grid, increasing storage capacities, and combined heat and power (CHP) generation will be the major areas of investment,” Das concluded.