The expansion of renewable energies in Germany is still lagging behind the targets set in some areas. But the upward trend is impressive. New production records were set in succession last April. "But records are also necessary, because climate change will not wait and the demand for electricity will also grow rapidly," comments Markus W. Voigt, CEO of the aream Group.
Last April was a record-breaking month for renewables in Germany: according to the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, never has so much solar power been produced in one April, and never has so much onshore and offshore wind energy been generated. Net public electricity generation from wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, run-of-river and storage water as well as renewable waste reached almost 23,800 GWh - almost 54 per cent more than in April 2023. Coal-fired power, on the other hand, recorded a decline of 38 per cent.
The boom is also underway worldwide: according to calculations by the Australian National University, wind and solar energy accounted for 80 per cent of the additional production capacity last year. In terms of global capacity, photovoltaics had already overtaken nuclear energy by 2017, wind energy by 2022 and hydropower by 2023. With the current annual growth rate of 20 per cent, photovoltaic capacity is expected to exceed that of natural gas this year and coal next year. By 2031, solar power capacity is expected to exceed that of all other energy sources combined.
aream’s German solar plants delivered a stable performance last April with slightly below-average hours of sunshine (target achievement of 90 per cent). Although the plants in Spain achieved a target of 101 per cent, production was surprisingly poor given the above-average hours of sunshine. "We have started the analysis process," explains Voigt. In Italy, the plants in the aream portfolio suffered yield losses due to damage (weather and burglary/theft). The yields were therefore low with average hours of sunshine (target achievement 84 per cent).
Aream’s German wind turbines were able to partially offset the losses from March thanks to good wind (target achievement in April 110 per cent). However, without the losses due to the gearbox damage (approx. 400 MWh) and without shutdowns due to official requirements (approx. 350 MWh), an even better result would have been possible.
PRESSEKONTAKT:
Leandra Kiebach
T: +49 (0)211 30 20 60 4-2
E: lk@aream.de