The impressive streak of renewable energy records set by Germany has continued, with renewable energy generation surging to a record portion of the country’s overall electricity demand.
With wind and solar in particular filling such a huge portion, nearly 75 per cent, of the country’s power demand, electricity prices actually dipped into the negative for much of the afternoon, according to Renewables International.
The record renewable energy production actually occurred just after midday on Sunday of this week.
In the first quarter of 2014, renewable energy sources met a record 27 per cent of the country’s electricity demand, thanks to additional installations and favorable weather.
“Renewable generators produced 40.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, up from 35.7 billion kilowatt-hours in the same period last year,” Bloomberg newsagency reported.
Much of the country’s renewable energy growth has occurred in the past decade.
As a point of comparison, Germany’s 27 per cent is double the approximately 13 per cent of United States electricity supply powered by renewable energy up to November 2013.
Observers say the records will keep coming as Germany continues its Energiewende, or energy transformation, which aims to power the country almost entirely on renewable sources by 2050.
“Once again, it was demonstrated that a modern electricity system such as the German one can already accept large penetration rates of variable but predictable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar PV power,” said Bernard Chabot, a renewable energy consultant based in France, who analysed the figures.
“In fact there are no technical and economic obstacles to go first to 20 per cent of annual electricity demand penetration rate from a combination of those two technologies,” he said.
“
Then 50 per cent and beyond can be achieved by combining them with other renewable and energy efficiency measures and some progressive storage solutions at a modest level.”
To reach the lofty goal of 80 per cent renewable energy by 2050, Germany had to move quickly.
Despite being known for gray skies, the country has installed a significant amount of solar photovoltaic (PV) power, setting multiple solar power generation records along the way.
At the end of 2012, Germany had installed considerably more solar power capacity per capita than any other country.
The rapid growth has slowed, however, with 3.3GW of PV installed in 2013, compared to 7.6GW in 2012, and as countries like the US, Japan and China catch up, installations have continued to drop in 2014.
However, recent analysis by the consulting firm Eclareon found that solar power had reached grid parity in Germany, meaning once all of the costs were accounted for, the price of commercial solar power was equal to retail electricity rates.
And wind power reached record output levels last year, producing a massive 25.2GW and accounting for 39 per cent of the electricity supply on a single day in December.
