German solar power up 50% year over year via Renewables International

Yesterday, the BDEW announced power production figures for the first three quarters of 2012. Most notably, the share of solar power grew from 4.1 percent to 6.1 percent – an increase of nearly 50 percent. Other renewables also continue to grow.

The BDEW, the association of German utilities, announced preliminary statistics for power production within Germany in the first three quarters of 2012 in a press release yesterday. Solar power production increased from 16.5 billion kilowatt-hours in the first three quarters of 2011 to 24.9 billion kilowatt-hours this year Interestingly, a new record was set in September 2012, when 2.9 billion kilowatt-hours of solar power was generated – more than ever before in a single month. With German power consumption remaining basically unchanged, the share of solar power increased by roughly 50 percent year over year.

Wind power remains the largest source of renewable electricity, however, with 35 billion kilowatt-hours having been generated in the first nine months of the year, compared to 32.5 billion kilowatt-hours in the first three quarters of 2011.

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Overall, the figures for shares of renewable power breakdown as follows:

• wind power: 8.6 of German electricity supply (compared to 8.0 percent in Q1-Q3 2011);
• photovoltaics: 6.1 percent (4.1 percent);
• biomass: 5.8 percent (5.4 percent);
• hydropower: 3.8 percent (3.3 percent);
• waste and other renewables: 0.9 percent (0.9 percent)

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