- Mild weather and weakness in the economy: energy consumption falls
Energy consumption in Germany decreased by 3.4 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, preliminary calculations by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Energiebilanzen (AGEB) showed in their latest quarterly report on Tuesday. The primary energy consumption in the first six months was 5,428 petajoules.
"Nearly half of this decrease can be attributed to milder weather," AGEB said. Adjusted for weather effects, energy consumption would have fallen by about 1.5 percent. The slow economic growth was another main reason for the decrease. However, the leap year day on February 29 had a consumption-increasing effect.
The calculated energy amount corresponds to 1,508 terawatt hours in the unit watt hours. For reference, Germany's statistical office reported that 450 terawatt hours of electricity were fed into the grid in 2023. One terawatt hour equals one billion kilowatt hours. For example, Hamburg's electricity consumption in 2023 was around 9.6 terawatt hours.
Oil and gas remain the most important energy sources
Among the energy sources, mineral oil had the largest share of primary energy consumption from January to June, at 35.3 percent. Natural gas accounted for 27.1 percent, hard coal 7.4 percent, and lignite 7.0 percent. Fossil energy sources thus accounted for a total of 76.8 percent. In the first half of 2023, this value was still 77.2 percent. Renewable energies contributed 20.7 percent from January to June 2024 (1st half of 2023: 19.8 percent). The remaining shares are mainly made up of electricity imports and electricity generated by waste incineration.
The statisticians spoke of "clearly visible changes in the structure of energy consumption." In particular, the further reduction in coal use is likely to have led to a decrease in CO2 emissions of 17 million tons in the first half of the year. For comparison: According to the German government, around 673 million tons of greenhouse gases were emitted in Germany in 2023.
The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Energiebilanzen consists of four economic associations and four institutes that deal with energy-related research.
The slow economic weakness in Germany also contributed to the decrease in energy consumption. Despite the increase in oil and gas consumption, the overall reliance on fossil energy sources decreased slightly due to the growth of renewable energies, possibly reflecting economic weakness causing less energy demand.
