Renewables accounted for more than half of Germany's electricity generation in January and February this year, driven by favorable weather conditions.
In the first quarter of 2022, Germany generated 74.5 billion kWh of renewable energy, an increase of nearly 25 percent year-on-year, according to new analysis by the Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Center in Baden-Württemberg and the Federal Association for Energy and Water Management (BDEW).
The "unusually windy" start of the year, especially in February, pushed the share of renewables to 47 percent and 62 percent of electricity consumption in January and February, respectively, with record wind power in February.
In the first quarter of this year, solar photovoltaics contributed 9.6 billion kWh, and March's solar radiation was above average.
In het eerste kwartaal van 2022 bereikte de stroomopwekking van Duitse zonne-energieprojecten 9,6 miljard kWh
The analysis found that in the two months at the beginning of the year, renewable energy accounted for 54 percent of Germany's total electricity consumption.
"The high share of renewables in the first few months of the year should not obscure the fact that the expansion of renewables is too slow," said Kerstin Andreae, chairman of the BDEW executive committee.
Andreae said that with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, rapid independence from fossil fuels was crucial, and the move to expand renewable energy was "more urgent than ever."
Eerder deze maand, in een poging om de afhankelijkheid van Russische olie te verminderen, stelde Duitsland zich ten doel de ontwikkeling van zonne- en windprojecten te versnellen om tegen 2035 100 procent hernieuwbare elektriciteit te bereiken. Tegen die tijd zal zonne-energie van de geïnstalleerde capaciteit voor hernieuwbare energie zijn 200GW.
Andreae added: "In order to provide more space for wind turbines and photovoltaic systems, we need a faster planning and approval process."
Similar comments were made by the solar industry association Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft (BSW) earlier this year. The association has called for additional barriers to be "broken" if Germany wants to reach 200GW of solar capacity by 2030.
In addition, the government has launched an initiative to support the construction of solar energy projects on agricultural land to consolidate Germany's agricultural photovoltaic projects.
Vorig jaar leidde Duitsland de EU met 5,3 GW aan geïnstalleerde zonne-PV-capaciteit. Eind 2021 heeft Duitsland bijna 60 GW geïnstalleerd vermogen. Om de doelstelling voor 2030 te halen, moet Duitsland zijn jaarlijkse geïnstalleerde zonne-PV-capaciteit meer dan verdrievoudigen.