Electricity sector in Germany explained

Country:Germany
Continuity:0.2815h (16.89min) interruption per subscriber per year
Capacity:211.31GW[1]
Capacityyear:2020
Production:490.6 TW⋅h[2]
Productionyear:2021
Fossilshare:40.9% (2021)
Renewableshare:55% (2023)
Greenhouse:363.7Mt [631.4{{nbsp}}TW⋅h × 576{{nbsp}}g/kW⋅h]
Greenhouseyear:2013
Itariff:medium: 20.60[3]
Itariffyear:2013

Germany's electrical grid is part of the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe. In 2020, due to COVID-19 conditions and strong winds, Germany produced 484 TW⋅h of electricity of which over 50% was from renewable energy sources, 24% from coal, and 12% from natural gas, this amounting to 36% from fossil fuel .[4] This is the first year renewables represented more than 50% of the total electricity production and a major change from 2018, when a full 38% was from coal, only 40% was from renewable energy sources, and 8% was from natural gas.[5]

In 2023, 55% of energy produced was from renewable energy source; a 6.6 percentage points increase from 2022.[6] Within the 55%, 31.1% was attributed to wind, 12.1% to solar, 8.4% to biomass and the remaining 3.4% from hydropower and other renewable.

Germany has consistently produced the most carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union since the turn of the century, a large proportion of this coming from coal and lignite burning power stations, 7 of which are included in Europe's top 10 most polluting list of 2021.

In 2022, Germany produced nearly 635 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This was more than the combined emissions produced by the next largest emitters in the EU – Italy and Poland. These three countries accounted for roughly 46 percent of total EU carbon dioxide emissions in 2022.

Germany's installed capacity for electric generation increased from 121 gigawatts (GW) in 2000 to 218 GW in 2019, an 80% increase, while electricity generation increased only 5% in the same period.[7]

Even though renewables production increased significantly between 1991 and 2017, fossil power production remained at more or less constant levels. In the same period, nuclear power production decreased due to the phase-out plan, and much of the increase in renewables filled the gap left behind by closing nuclear power plants. However 2019 and 2020 saw significant reductions in electricity generation from fossil fuel, from 252 TW⋅h in 2018 to 181 TW⋅h in 2020. The German government decided to phase-out nuclear power by end of 2022, however this has been delayed until April 2023 due to supply disruption caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine,[8] meaning that future growth in renewables will be needed to fill the gap again. Germany also plans to phase out coal by 2038 or earlier.

Electricity prices

German electricity prices in 2020 were 31.47 euro cents per kW⋅h for residential customers (an increase of 126% since 2000),[9] and 17.8 euro cents per kW⋅h for non-residential customers (21.8 with taxes).[10] [11] [12] German households and small businesses pay the highest electricity price in Europe for many years in a row now. More than half of the power price consists of components determined by the state (53%). These taxes, levies and surcharges have tripled since 2000 [from 5.19 to 16.49 Euro Cents]. These include levies for financing investment in renewable energy (22.1%) and for other kinds of taxes (e.g. GST 19%). Grid charges account for almost 25%, and only the remaining 22% are used to actually generate the electricity.

International electricity trade

Germany exported 70,237 GWh of electricity and imported 51,336 GWh in 2021.[13] Germany is the second largest exporter of electricity after France, representing about 10% of electricity exports worldwide. [14] [15] Germany has grid interconnections with neighboring countries representing 10% of domestic capacity.[16]

Electricity per person and by power source

Germany produced power per person in 2008 equal to the EU-15 average (EU-15: 7,409 kWh/person) and 77% of the OECD average (8,991 kW⋅h/person).[17]

On 8 May 2016 renewables supplied 87.6% of Germany's national electricity consumption, albeit under extremely favourable weather conditions.[18]

Electricity per capita in Germany* (kWh/person)[19] [20]
UseProductionExportExp. %FossilFossil %NuclearNuc. %Other RE*Bio+wasteWindNon RE use*RE %
align=left 2004 7,445 7,476 32 0.4% 4,603 61.5% 2,025 27.2% 654 194 6,597 11.4%
align=left 2005 7,468 7,523 55 0.7% 4,674 62.1% 1,977 26.5% 670 201 6,597 11.7%
align=left 2006 7,528 7,727 199 2.6% 4,796 62% 1,706 22.7% 856 369 6,303 16.3%
align=left 2008 7,450 7,693243 3.3% 4,635 60% 1,804 24.2% 873 381 6,196 16.8%
align=left 2009 7,051 7,200 149 2.1% 4,314 59.9% 1,644 23.3% 288* 491 461* 5,811 17.6%
20176,0386,6786409.5%3,19948.6%87313.2%7115741,2523,50138.2%
  • This data for Germany is extracted from the international column of a Swedish report
    * Other RE is waterpower, solar and geothermal electricity and wind power until 2008
    * Non RE use = use – production of renewable electricity
    * RE % = (production of RE / use) * 100%
    Note: European Union calculates the share of renewable energies in gross electrical consumption.

Mode of production

According to the IEA the gross production of electricity was 631TW⋅h in 2008 which gave the seventh position among the world top producers in 2010. The top seven countries produced 59% of electricity in 2008. The top producers were the United States (21.5%), China (17.1%), Japan (5.3%), Russia (5.1%), India (4.1%), Canada (3.2%) and Germany (3.1%).[21]

In 2020, Germany generated electricity from the following sources: 27% wind, 24% coal, 12% nuclear, 12% natural gas, 10% solar, 9.3% biomass, 3.7% hydroelectricity.

Coal

See also: Fossil-fuel phase-out and List of power stations in Germany.

In 2008, power from coal supplied 291TW⋅h or 46% of Germany's overall production of 631TW⋅h, but this dropped to 118TW⋅h (24%) in 2020. In 2010 Germany was still one of the world's largest consumers of coal at 4th place behind China (2,733TW⋅h), USA (2,133TW⋅h) and India (569TW⋅h).[21] By 2019 it had fallen to 8th, behind smaller countries such as South Korea and South Africa.[22]

Germany has shut all hardcoal mines by the end of 2018, but still has large open pit mines for lignite in the Western and Eastern parts of the country.

In January 2019 the German Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment initiates Germany's plans to entirely phase out and shut down the 84 remaining coal-fired plants on its territory by 2038.[23]

Nuclear power

See main article: Nuclear power in Germany.

Germany has defined a firm active phase-out policy of nuclear power. Eight nuclear power plants were permanently shut down after the Fukushima accident. All nuclear power plants are to be phased out by the end of 2022. According to BMU this is an opportunity for future generations.[24]

Siemens is the only significant nuclear constructor in Germany and the nuclear share was 3% of their business in 2000.[25] In 2006 large international bribes by Siemens in the energy and telecommunication business were revealed. The case was investigated, for example, in Nigeria, the United States, Greece and South Korea.[26]

The installed nuclear power capacity in Germany was 20GW in 2008 and 21GW in 2004. The production of nuclear power was 148TW⋅h in 2008 (sixth top by 5.4% of world total) and 167TW⋅h in 2004 (fourth top by 6.1% of world total).[21] [27]

In 2009, nuclear power production saw a 19% reduction compared to 2004, and its share had declined smoothly over time from 27% to 23%. The share of renewable electricity increased, substituting for nuclear power.[17]

Renewable electricity

See main article: Renewable energy in Germany.

Germany has been called "the world's first major renewable energy economy".[28] [29] Renewable energy in Germany is mainly based on wind, solar and biomass. Germany had the world's largest photovoltaic installed capacity until 2014, and as of 2016, it is third with 40 GW. It is also the world's third country by installed wind power capacity, at 50 GW, and second for offshore wind, with over 4 GW.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, along with a vast majority of her compatriots, believes, "As the first big industrialized nation, we can achieve such a transformation toward efficient and renewable energies, with all the opportunities that brings for exports, developing new technologies and jobs".[30] The share of renewable electricity rose from just 3.4% of gross electricity consumption in 1990 to exceed 10% by 2005, 20% by 2011 and 30% by 2015, reaching 36.2% of consumption by year end 2017.[31] As with most countries, the transition to renewable energy in the transport and heating and cooling sectors has been considerably slower.

More than 23,000 wind turbines and 1.4 million solar PV systems are distributed all over the country.[32] [33] According to official figures, around 370,000 people were employed in the renewable energy sector in 2010, particularly in small and medium-sized companies.[34] This is an increase of around 8% compared to 2009 (around 339,500 jobs), and well over twice the number of jobs in 2004 (160,500). About two-thirds of these jobs are attributed to the Renewable Energy Sources Act.[35] [36]

Germany's federal government is working to increase renewable energy commercialization,[37] with a particular focus on offshore wind farms.[38] A major challenge is the development of sufficient network capacities for transmitting the power generated in the North Sea to the large industrial consumers in southern parts of the country.[39] Germany's energy transition, the Energiewende, designates a significant change in energy policy from 2011. The term encompasses a reorientation of policy from demand to supply and a shift from centralized to distributed generation (for example, producing heat and power in very small cogeneration units), which should replace overproduction and avoidable energy consumption with energy-saving measures and increased efficiency. At the end of 2020, Germany had 2.3 GW⋅h of home battery storage, often in conjunction with solar panels.[40]

Transmission network

Grid owners included, in 2008, RWE, EnBW, Vattenfall and E.ON. According to the European Commission the electricity producers should not own the electricity grid to ensure open competition. The European Commission accused E.ON of the misuse of markets in February 2008. Consequently, E.ON sold its share of the network.[41] As of July 2016 the four German TSOs are:

In Germany, there also exists a single-phase AC grid operated at 16.7Hz to supply power to rail transport, see list of installations for 15 kV AC railway electrification in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Special features of German transmission network

There are some special features in the transmission network of Germany. Also they have no direct influence on operation, they are remarkable under technical viewpoints.

Garland-type communication cables

Many powerlines in Baden-Württemberg, which were built by Energie-Versorgung-Schwaben (EVS, now part of EnBW) are equipped with a communication cable, which hangs like a garland on the ground conductor. Some of these lines have also a second communication cable hanging on an auxiliary wire, which is usually fixed on the pinnacle of the pylon below the ground conductor. Such devices are usually installed on lines with voltages of 110 kV and more, but there existed also a 20 kV-line near Eberdingen, which had a communication cable fixed like a garland on a conductor rope. Although communication cables fixed like a garland where replaced in the last decades by free-hanging communication cables many of these devices are still in use. If a downlink of the communication cable from the suspension level to the ground is necessary, which is for example the case at amplifier stations, lines built by former Energie-Versorgung-Schwaben (EVS) use therefore a cable in the centre of the tower strung by a pond instead of a cable fixed at the tower structure. This construction type can be found as well on lines using garland-type communication cables as on lines using freely span communication cables.

Powerline crossings of Elbe river near Stade

There are two powerline crossings of the Elbe river near Stade, whose pylons are among the tallest structures in Europe.

Elbe Crossing 1 is a group of masts providing an overhead crossing of a 220 kV three-phase alternating current electric powerline across the River Elbe.[42] Constructed between 1959 and 1962 as part of the line from Stade to Hamburg north, it consists of four masts. Each of the two portal masts is a guyed mast in height with a crossbeam at a height of . One of these masts stands on the Schleswig-Holstein bank of the Elbe and the other on the Lower Saxony bank. Two identical carrying masts in height, each weighing, ensure the necessary passage height of over the Elbe. One stands on the island of Lühesand, the other in the Buhnenfeld on the Schleswig-Holstein side.

Because of the swampy terrain, each mast's foundation is built on pilings driven into the ground. The Lühesand portal mast rests on 41 pilings and the one on the Buhnenfeld on 57. In contrast to the usual construction of such lattice-steel transmission towers, the direction of the line passes diagonally over the square ground cross section of the pylon, resulting in savings in material. The two crossbeams for the admission of the six conductor cables are at a height of and . The mast on the Buhnenfeld bears at a height of a radar facility belonging to the Water and Navigation Office of the Port of Hamburg. Each portal mast has stairs and gangways for maintenance of flight safety beacons, and has a hoist for heavy loads.

Elbe Crossing 2 is a group of transmission towers providing overhead lines for four 380 kV three-phase alternating current (AC) circuits across the German river Elbe.[43] [44] It was constructed between 1976 and 1978 to supplement Elbe Crossing 1, and consists of four towers:

These pylons are the tallest pylons in Europe and the sixth tallest of the world. They stand on 95 piers because of the unfavorable building ground. The base of each pylon measures 45x and each pylon weighs . Crossbeams, which hold up the power cables, are located at heights of 172m (564feet), 190m (620feet) and . The crossbeams span 56m (184feet) (lowest crossbeam), 72m (236feet) (middle crossbeam) and 57m (187feet) (highest crossbeam). Each pylon has a self-propelled climbing elevator for maintenance of the aircraft warning lights; each elevator runs inside a steel tube in the centre of the mast, around which there is a spiral staircase.

The enormous height of the two carrying pylons ensures that the passage height requirement of over the Elbe demanded by German authorities is met. The height requirement ensures that large ships are able to enter Hamburg's deep-water port.

Electricity pylons

Unlike in most other countries, there are only few three-level or delta pylons. Instead, two-level lattice pylons called are widely used. These carry two cables on the upper and four cables on the lower crossarm. Particularly in eastern Germany one-level pylons were used too. Power lines with less than 100 kV mostly run underground today. Unlike in the USA and many other countries, roadside medium-voltage overhead lines do not exist.[45]

Other features

A 302 metres tall cooling tower of Scholven Power Station at Gelsenkirchen, which is used by four units of these thermal power station is equipped with three booms carrying the conductors of a 220 kV-circuit leaving one of these units.

From 1977 to 2010 a 74.84 metres high strainer of powerline Oberzier-Niedersechtem was equipped with a public observation deck in a height of 27 metres, which was accessible by a staircase. After too much vandalism occurred, which endangered also the integrity of the pylon, this observation deck was removed.

As in many other countries, power companies in Germany use radio relay links for data transmissions. In most cases the antennas used therefore are installed on lattice towers, but at some sites concrete towers are used for this purpose.The 87 metres tall radio relay tower on Goose Neck mountain (German: Gänsehals) near Bell is the only of these towers equipped with a public observation deck. It is situated in a height of 24 metres and accessible by a staircase.

Summary table

Source
Generation (GWh) Capacity (MW)
Total557,144 100.0% 250,385 100.0%
Fossil fuels 260,790 46.8% 98,311 39.3%
Renewables 233,000 41.8% 137,762 55.0%
Wind 113,624 20.4% 63,865 25.5%
Solar 49,992 9.0% 58,728 23.5%
Biomass and waste 49,883 9.0% 10,439 4.2%
Hydroelectricity 19,252 3.5% 6,199 2.5%
Geothermal 249 0.04% 46 0.02%
Nuclear 65,441 11.7% 8,113 3.2%
Hydroelectric pumped storage -2,087 -0.4% 6,199 2.5%
Consumption* 511,660 91.8%
Exports 70,237 12.6%
Imports 51,336 9.2%
Distribution losses 26,582 4.8%

*Consumption = Generation - Exports + Imports - Distribution losses

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Energy-Charts. www.energy-charts.info.
  2. Book: Burger, Bruno . 14 February 2022 . Öffentliche Nettostromerzeugung in Deutschland im Jahr 2021 . Public Net Electricity Generation in Germany in 2021 . German . Freiburg, Germany . Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE . 17 May 2022.
  3. Web site: Energie-Info EE und das EEG2013. 2013. BDEW. 21 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20130815113813/http://bdew.de/internet.nsf/id/17DF3FA36BF264EBC1257B0A003EE8B8/$file/Foliensatz_Energie-Info-EE-und-das-EEG2013_31.01.2013.pdf. 15 August 2013. dead.
  4. Book: Burger, Bruno. Public Net Electricity Generation in Germany 2020. Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. Freiburg, Germany. 3 June 2021. 4 January 2021.
  5. Web site: Electricity generation Energy Charts . 3 June 2020 . www.energy-charts.de . Fraunhofer ISE.
  6. Web site: 2023-01-03 . Renewable energy's share on German power grids reaches 55% in 2023 . Reuters.
  7. News: Germany's Energiewende, 20 Years Later . In 2000, Germany had an installed capacity of 121 gigawatts and it generated 577 terawatt-hours, which is 54 percent as much as it theoretically could have done (that is, 54 percent was its capacity factor). In 2019, the country produced just 5 percent more (607 TW⋅h), but its installed capacity was 80 percent higher (218.1 GW) because it now had two generating systems..
  8. News: Germany: Nuclear phase-out postponed for three and a half months .
  9. Web site: Electricity Price Germany: What households pay for power. Strom-Report. en-EN. 2021-03-03.
  10. Web site: Electricity price statistics, first half 2020 – Statistics Explained . ec.europa.eu .
  11. Web site: EU price diagram, first half 2020.
  12. Web site: Excluding VAT and other recoverable taxes and levies, first half 2020 . ec.europa.eu.
  13. Web site: Electricity . U.S. Energy Information Administration .
  14. Web site: 1970-01-01 . Countries by Electricity Exports . 2024-02-04 . AtlasBig . en.
  15. Web site: 2023-12-01 . Germany Energy Market Report Energy Market Research in Germany . 2024-02-04 . www.enerdata.net . en.
  16. Web site: ENERGY UNION PACKAGE . February 4, 2024 . eur-lex.europa.eu.
  17. German numbers extracted from Energy in Sweden, Facts and figures, The Swedish Energy Agency, (in Swedish: Energiläget i siffror), Table: Specific electricity production per inhabitant with breakdown by power source (kW⋅h/person), Source: IEA/OECD 2006 T23, 2007 T25, 2008 T26, 2009 T25 and 2010 T49 .
  18. Book: WWF . 15 signals: evidence the energy transition is underway . September 2016 . WWF France . Paris, France . 2016-09-17. World Wide Fund for Nature .
  19. Web site: Energimyndigheten . 2024-02-04 . www.energimyndigheten.se.
  20. Web site: Power generation in Germany – assessment of 2017 . www.ise.fraunhofer.de. Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. 2018-12-29.
  21. Web site: IEA Key Stats . iea.org.
  22. Web site: Coal consumption by country 2020. Statista.
  23. Web site: Germany to close all 84 of its coal-fired power plants, will rely primarily on renewable energy . Kirschbaum . Erik . January 26, 2019 . . January 27, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190130002321/https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-germany-coal-power-20190126-story.html . 2019-01-30 . live . Germany, one of the world's biggest consumers of coal, will shut down all 84 of its coal-fired power plants over the next 19 years to meet its international commitments in the fight against climate change, a government commission said Saturday..
  24. Web site: Erneuerbare Energien . 2024-02-04 . www.energiewechsel.de . de.
  25. Web site: Climate Change and Nuclear Power . assets.panda.org.
  26. Siemensin lahjusskandaali paisuu edelleen
  27. Web site: IEA Key energy statistics 2006 . 22 February 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091012043312/http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2006/key2006.pdf . 12 October 2009 . dead .
  28. Web site: News Archives . 2024-02-04 . Renewable Energy World . en-US . 12 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230312175813/https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/news/ . dead .
  29. Web site: Electricity Production From Solar and Wind in Germany 2014 . ise.fraunhofer.de.
  30. Web site: The End of the Atomic Dream: One Year After Fukushima, the Shortfalls of Nuclear Energy Are Clearer Than Ever. Alexander Ochs. 2012-03-16. Worldwatch.
  31. Web site: Zeitreihen zur Entwicklung der erneuerbaren Energien in Deutschland. February 2018. Erneuerbare Energien. de. Historic data about the development of renewable energies in Germany. 9 August 2018.
  32. http://www.wind-energie.de, Number of Wind Turbines in Germany, 2012
  33. Web site: Recent Facts About Photovoltaics in Germany . ise.fraunhofer.de.
  34. Gerhardt. Christina . Germany's Renewable Energy Shift: Addressing Climate Change. Capitalism, Nature, Socialism . 28. 2. 103–119. June 9, 2016. 10.1080/10455752.2016.1229803. 157399085.
  35. Web site: Renewable Energy Sources in Figures – National and International Development . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120302094445/http://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/files/english/pdf/application/pdf/broschuere_ee_zahlen_en_bf.pdf . 2 March 2012.
  36. Web site: Germany Leads Way on Renewables, Sets 45% Target by 2030 . 9 December 2018 . dead . 2 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131202235004/http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5430.
  37. Web site: 100% renewable electricity supply by 2050. Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. 26 January 2011. 4 June 2011. dead . 9 May 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110509143651/http://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/inhalt/46959/3860/.
  38. Web site: Stefan . Schultz . Will Nuke Phase-Out Make Offshore Farms Attractive?. 23 March 2011. . 26 March 2011.
  39. The Wall Street Journal Online, 24 April 2012
  40. Web site: Vorrath . Sophie . Germany installed 100,000 home batteries in "year of Corona" . One Step Off The Grid . https://web.archive.org/web/20210325052309/https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/germany-installed-100000-home-batteries-in-year-of-corona/ . 25 March 2021 . 24 March 2021 . live.
  41. Lehmänkaupat hämmentävät EU:n energianeuvotteluja, Helsingin Sanomat 1.3.2008 B11
  42. "Die 380/220-kV-Elbekreuzung im 220-kV-Netz der Nordwestdeutschen Kraftwerke AG" by Hans Heino Moeller of the NWK, Hamburg
  43. "Die Maste der neuen 380-kV-Hochspannungsfreileitung über die Elbe" NWK special edition of "Der Stahlbau", 48th year, issues 11 and 12, pp. 321 to 326, pp. 360 to 366, authors: Friedrich Kießling, Hans Dieter Sperl and Friedrich Wagemann
  44. "Die neue 380-kV-Elbekreuzung der Nordwestdeutsche Kraftwerke AG" NWK special edition of "Elektrizitätswirtschaft", 77th year, issue 10 (May 8, 1978) pp. 341 to 352
  45. https://www.hoogspanningsforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=36124 The electricity pylon designs of the world - an overview - HoogspanningsNet Forum