Electricity sector in Germany
| Data | |
|---|---|
| Continuity of supply | 0.213 h (12.8 min) interruption per subscriber per year (2023) |
| Installed capacity (2024) | 263.4 GW |
| Production (2024) | 488.5 TWh |
| Share of fossil energy | 37.3% (2024) |
| Share of renewable energy | 62.7% (2024) |
| GHG emissions from electricity generation (2024) | 151.8 Mt CO2 [488.5 TWh × 311 g/kWh] |
| Tariffs and financing | |
| Average industrial tariff (US$/kW·h, 2013) | medium: 20.60 |
Germany is a major electricity producer and consumer. It has the largest economy in the European Union. The country produced 488.5 TWh of electricity in 2024, with 59.4% from renewable energy sources. Germany's electrical grid is part of the synchronous grid of continental Europe.
Germany is undergoing an energy transition (Energiewende) towards renewable energy, in particular solar and wind, and away from nuclear and fossil fuels. It completed its nuclear phase-out in 2023, and is in the process of phasing out coal and fossil gas. The country plans to phase out coal by 2038 or earlier. In 2023, 31.1% of electricity was produced from wind power, 12.1% from solar power, 8.4% from biomass and the remaining 3.4% from hydropower and other renewables, for a total of 55% share of renewable energy sources in total electricity generation. In 2024, an average of 363 grams of CO2 was emitted per kilowatt hour of electricity consumed in Germany (compared to 433 g/kWh in 2022). Germany's emissions in 2022 represent a 40% reduction compared to 1990, the year of the German reunification. Germany once again met its target under the European Union's Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) in 2022.
As part of its energy transition towards renewable energy, 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, due to the lower capacity factors of renewable energy sources.