The Fraunhofer ISE institute reported that this year, the power generated by onshore and offshore wind in Germany surpassed the electricity output from hard coal and nuclear plants for the first time. According to Bruno Burger, a professor at Fraunhofer ISE based in Freiburg, German coal plant operators reduced production from hard coal plants in favor of cheaper-to-run lignite units. Additionally, nuclear power operators kept plants like Grundremmingen B offline for extended periods.
Burger stated that lignite generation increased by 0.3 percent to around 117 terawatt-hours so far this year, underscoring utilities’ reliance on one of the cheapest and most polluting energy sources. Meanwhile, hard coal generation declined by 14 percent to 69.3 terawatt-hours.
The combined installed capacity of onshore and offshore wind power is approximately 54 gigawatts, surpassing all other main sources of power capacity. Wind farms accounted for about 46 percent of Germany’s electricity generation on Thursday, according to Wind Power Europe.
Source: Bloomberg Technology