WIESBADEN (dpa-AFX) - In the first quarter of this year, more electricity was generated in Germany from fossil fuels than from renewable sources. This was last the case in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Since then, the share of electricity from renewable energy sources had consistently outweighed that from conventional sources.
According to statisticians, 50.5 percent of the electricity in Germany in the first quarter of this year came from fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas. In the same quarter last year, the figure was only 41.5 percent.
Renewable energies such as wind power declined significantly: at 49.5 percent of total domestic electricity production, their share was well below that of the first quarter of 2024 (58.5 percent).
What was the reason?
The reason for this development is the weather. Electricity generation from wind power in particular slumped. "The main cause of the decline was an unusually windless first quarter," explain the statisticians.
Nevertheless, according to the data, wind power was the most important energy source for electricity generation in Germany at the beginning of 2025, as in previous years. Its share of the total domestic electricity mix was 27.8 percent this time, compared with 38.5 percent in the same quarter of the previous year.
Compensated by conventional power plants
The decline in electricity generation from renewable energy sources was largely offset by the operation of conventional power plants. As a result, coal ranked second among the most important energy sources at the beginning of this year, just behind wind power with a share of 27.0 percent (Q1 2024: 23.0). Natural gas ranked third with 20.6 percent (Q1 2024: 15.8).
Only then did other renewable energies follow: the share of photovoltaics, i.e., energy generated from sunlight, was 9.2 percent this time. However, in contrast to the share of wind power, it rose significantly compared to the same quarter of the previous year (Q1 2024: 6.7). The share of biogas stagnated (Q1 2025: 6.1 percent / Q1 2024: 6.0 percent)./juc/DP/mis
