The Federal Statistical Office has revealed that conventional energy sources produced more electricity than renewable sources last year, with coal replacing wind power as Germany’s main source of electricity.

Germany’s reliance on non-renewable energy

Last year, most of Germany’s electricity was produced through conventional fuel sources, such as coal, natural gas or nuclear energy, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). On Thursday, the Wiesbaden-based institute revealed that the proportion of the total electricity generated in Germany rose to 57,6 percent in 2021, up from 52,9 percent in 2020. This means that the proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources, like wind and solar power, fell from 47,1 to 42,4 percent.

Electricity produced through coal power plants recorded the highest increase in 2021 compared to the previous year, with the proportion of coal-produced electricity rising from 24,8 percent to 30 percent.

The majority of Germany’s coal-produced electricity (60 percent) comes from lignite, or brown coal, which has been designated as particularly harmful to the environment and human health. In its coalition statement, Germany’s coalition government stated that it intends to stop producing electricity through coal by 2038 at the latest, but ideally before 2030. However, Germany’s dependence on coal is likely to increase in the short term, as the country looks to free itself from its reliance on Russian gas.

Lack of wind blamed for drop in wind-power production

Unfavourable weather conditions have been blamed for Germany’s fall in wind-powered electricity production. The proportion of electricity produced from wind power fell to 21,5 percent in 2021, down from 25,2 percent in 2020, when it was Germany’s most important source of energy. Accordingly, experts suggested this is due to spring being less windy in 2021 than in 2020.

The amount of energy produced through solar power also fell in 2021, albeit only slightly. The amount of electricity produced by natural gas also fell significantly, as prices rose sharply towards the end of last year. The proportion of electricity produced by Germany’s last three remaining power plants remained the same.