Electricity generation from renewables up in the third quarter - imports also up
As the statisticians announced on Wednesday, a total of 94.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity were generated and fed into the grid from July to September. This was a significant decrease of 20.3 percent compared to the same period last year. The Federal Office also cites the drop in electricity consumption by energy-intensive industries due to the weakening economy as a reason for this.
Generation from conventional sources such as coal, natural gas and nuclear energy fell by 42.9 percent. They only accounted for 39.8 percent of total electricity generation, compared to 55.6 percent in the third quarter of last year.
The amount of electricity generated in coal-fired power plants fell significantly - by 47.3% to a share of 23.9%. Nuclear energy fell to zero following the shutdown of the last nuclear power plants in April. In contrast, the amount of electricity generated from natural gas rose by 9.2% year-on-year in the third quarter and accounted for 12.7% of the total electricity feed-in.
As in the first half of the year, wind power was the most important source of energy in domestic electricity generation in the third quarter. This form of electricity generation increased by 16.2% year-on-year to now account for 24.4% of all electricity generated. In the 2022 annual balance sheet, coal-fired electricity was still the most important energy source in electricity generation. Electricity from photovoltaics increased by 6.6% and accounted for a 21.5% share in the third quarter.
There was a significant import surplus in electricity trading with other countries - in the same period of the previous year, there was still an export surplus: The amount of electricity imported to Germany rose by a whopping 78.6 percent year-on-year to a volume of 23.1 billion kilowatt hours. According to the statistics, the most important import countries were Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria and Switzerland. Exports amounted to 9.9 billion kilowatt hours, a decrease of 38.2 percent.
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- In Wiesbaden, the statistical office Destatis reported an increase in electricity imports during the third quarter.
- The economic situation may have also played a role in the significant rise of imported kilowatt hours, as energy-intensive industries reduced their consumption.
- Despite the increase in imports, the total electricity generation from renewable sources still decreased year-on-year compared to the same quarter last year.
- The amount of electricity imported to Germany reached 23.1 billion kilowatt hours, representing a 78.6% increase from the previous year.
- This upward trend in electricity imports was contrasted by a significant decrease in exports, dropping by 38.2% to 9.9 billion kilowatt hours.
- Among the top importing countries were Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria and Switzerland, indicating international reliance on renewable energy sources.
- Renewable energy sources still accounted for a substantial portion of the total electricity generation, even with the decrease in the third quarter.
- The economic situation and energy market dynamics continue to influence the balance between electricity generation and imports, highlighting the importance of both domestic and international energy policies.
Source: www.stern.de
