Renewable energy in Germany comes mainly from wind power, solar power and biomass and is a central component of the country's Energiewende. In 2025, renewable sources accounted for 23.8% of Germany's gross final energy consumption. Their share was highest in the electricity sector, where renewables supplied 55.1% of gross electricity consumption. Wind power accounted for about 25.4%, solar photovoltaics for 17.4%, biomass for about 9.1%, and hydroelectricity for 3.2%. Renewable shares were lower in heating, at 19.0%, and in transport, at 8.0%.
Germany was an early leader in the deployment of renewable energy. In 2009, it was described as "the world's first major renewable energy economy". Germany remained the country with the world's largest installed photovoltaic capacity through 2014.
The Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) has been a major driver of the expansion of renewable electricity in Germany. It sets a target for renewables to account for at least 80% of gross electricity consumption by 2030. The growth of renewable generation has also required substantial expansion of the electricity grid, including major north–south transmission corridors.
Targets
Since the passage of the Directive on Electricity Production from Renewable Energy Sources in 1997, Germany and the other states of the European Union were working towards a target of 12% renewable electricity by 2010. Germany passed this target early in 2007, when the renewable energy share in electricity consumption in Germany reached 14%. In September 2010, the German government announced ambitious energy targets: After the 2013 elections, the new CDU/CSU and SPD coalition government continued the energy transition, with only minor modifications of its targets in the coalition agreement. These targets include, for renewable energy:
+ Renewable energy targets (with actual figures for 2015) Target 2015 2020 2030 2040 2050 Share of gross final energy consumption 14.9% 18% 30% 45% 60% Share of gross electricity consumption 31.6% ≥35% ≥50% ≥65% ≥80% Share of heat consumption 13.2% 14% N/A N/AN/A Share in transport sector 5.2% 10% N/A N/AN/A
The German Government reported, in 2011, renewable energy (mainly wind turbines and biomass plants) generated more than 123TWh of electricity, providing nearly 20% of the 603TWh of electricity supplied. By 2012, all renewable energy accounted for 21.9% of electricity, with wind turbines and photovoltaic providing 11.9% of the total.
As of 2017, renewable sources account for 38% of the net electricity production. Compared to the same period of 2016, energy production from renewable energy sources increased from 182 TWh to 210 TWh. It marks the first year where solar and wind are the biggest source of energy. Power production from nuclear power plants decreased by 10%, due to maintenance. Use of hard coal decreased by 16%, while production from lignite stayed on a similar level and increased for gas by 2.6 TWh.
The renewable installations have come under criticism as well. A balance made in 2017 has shown that whilst emissions in 2016 were 28 percent lower than 1990, the country was likely to fall short of its 2020 target of a 40 percent reduction on 1990 emission levels. The 40 percent reduction target of 2020 will not be met unless "spectacular" additional efforts are made. One significant reason why Germany may miss its 2020 target is because the country's electricity exports have been growing strongly in recent years to surpass France as Europe's largest electricity exporter. A recent study calculates that Germany exports the equivalent of the annual output from 7GW of lignite generation – producing 59 million tonnes of emissions in the process, a figure which accounts for around half of the shortfall in emissions it needs to meet its 2020 targets. Replacing the baseload power from fossil fuels has proven more challenging after nuclear power plants have been shut down although the proportion of electricity generated by coal for domestic use has been falling year on year.
In July 2019, figures published by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) report that renewable energy is for the first time providing more electricity than coal and nuclear power combined in Germany. Solar, wind, biomass and hydroelectric power generates nearly half of the country's output. Times with negative prices increased as solar and wind power increased. Solar and wind power has low marginal cost, and other production sources with higher fuel costs become less competitive when demand and prices are low. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, solar power in Germany occasionally produced 32 gigawatt (GW). Solar, together with wind and other renewables, accounted for 78% of German power at one point.
Primary energy consumption
Source: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, 2000–2017, as per August 2018 As of 2015, Germany's total primary energy consumption is 13,218 petajoules or 3,672 terawatt-hours. The final renewable energy consumption, split by the sectors, and with their relative share, are: Electricity sector, with a renewable energy consumption of 31.5% (187.364 GWh) Heating sector, with a renewable energy consumption of 13.3% (158.662 GWh) Transportation sector, with a renewable energy consumption of 5.3% (33.611 GWh) As of the end of 2015, renewable energy sources, such as biomass, biogas, biofuels, hydro, wind and solar, accounted for 12.4% of the country's primary energy consumption, a more than doubling compared to 2004, when renewables only contributed 4.5%.
Although the terms "energy" and "electricity" are often used interchangeably, they should not be confused with one another, as electricity is only one form of energy and does not account for the energy consumed by combustion engines and heat boilers, used in transportation by vehicles and for the heating of buildings.
Sources
Wind power
In 2024, wind power generated a total of 136.4 TWh of electricity and was the largest contributor to Germany's electricity generation. In 2011, the country's installed capacity of wind power was 29 Gigawatts, which was more than doubled in 2024 with 72.7 GW installed.
Britain has the best potential wind resources in Europe; Germany has far less. Nevertheless in the late 20th century Germany built the largest wind power capacity worldwide. Volkmar Lauber explains this in terms of seven advantages inside Germany: Volkmar Lauber, "Wind power policy in Germany and the UK: Different choices leading to divergent outcomes" in Learning from wind power: governance, societal and policy perspectives on sustainable energy edited by Joseph Szarka (2012) p. 38.
A stronger national commitment to renewable energy; Superior national governance emphasizing effectiveness; Deployment of innovations efficiency and cheaply; Administrative efficiency and simplicity; Rapid buildup of a domestic equipment industry; Emergence of new entrepreneurs more committed to renewable energy than the old established electric companies; Outpouring of acceptance and support throughout German society and politics.
Biomass
The key provider of biomass supply in Germany is supposed to be agriculture. Moreover, 40% of German wood production is also used as a biomass feedstock. The German Federal Research Centre for Forestry and Forest Products claims that there are also reserves which may assist in enlarging the part of forestry in biomass production. Agriculture is the main source of rapeseed oil, which is used for the production of biodiesel and making substrates for the production of biogas.
Biomass used for the production of biogas and biofuels are some of Germany's most important sources of renewable energy. In 2010, biomass accounted for 30% of renewable electricity generation and for 70% of all renewable energy (mostly wood).
Germany has committed to blending 6.25% biofuels in petroleum by 2014 with the Biofuels Quota Act.Bundesministeriums der Justiz in Zusammenarbeites mit der juris. 9 August 2009. Verordnung über Anforderungen an eine nachhaltige Herstellung von Biokraftstoffen (Biokraftstoff-Nachhaltigkeitsverordnung – Biokraft-NachV).
Photovoltaic solar power
Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology generates electricity from sunlight, and it can be used in grid-connected and off-grid applications. They were first mass-produced in the year 2000, when German environmentalists and Eurosolar have succeeded in obtaining the government support for the 100,000 roofs program.Solar Power for the World: What You Wanted to Know about PhotovoltaicsTaylor & Francis Group In July 2012, a cumulative installed total solar PV power of 29.7 GW was in place.Entwicklung des deutschen PV-Marktes Jan–Jul 2012 (German) Solar PV provided 72 TW·h in 2024, 14% of the total electricity demand. As solar power installations rise quickly, in January 2025 100 GW installed PV power was reached.Energy charts
Hydroelectricity
The total installed hydroelectric capacity in Germany at the end of 2006 was 4.7 GW. Hydropower meets 3.5% of the electricity demand. Latest estimates show, in Germany in 2007, about 9,400 people were employed in the hydropower sector which generated a total turnover of €1.23 billion.
Geothermal power
Geothermal power in Germany is expected to grow, mainly because of a law that benefits the production of geothermal electricity and guarantees a feed-in tariff. But after a renewable energy law that introduced a tariff scheme of (US$0.23) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for electricity produced from geothermal sources came into effect that year, a construction boom was sparked and the new power plants are now starting to come online.
Industry Enercon, Nordex, REpower Systems, Siemens, and Fuhrländer are wind-power companies based in Germany. Every third solar panel and every second wind rotor in Germany are German, and German turbines and generators used in hydro energy generation are among the most popular worldwide.
Nearly 800,000 people work in the German environment technology sector; an estimated 214,000 people work with renewables in Germany, up from 157,000 in 2004, an increase of 36%. Estimated German jobs in renewable energy in 2012–2013 were about 370,000.Renewables 2014 Global Status Report, page 49
Siemens chief executive Peter Löscher believes Germany's target of generating 35% of its electricity from renewables by 2020 is achievable – and, most probably, profitable for Europe's largest engineering company. Its "environmental solutions" portfolio, which is firmly focused on renewables, is "already generating more than €27 billion a year, 35 per cent of Siemens' total revenue, and the plan is to grow this to €40 billion by 2015". Ending its involvement in nuclear industry will boost the credibility of Siemens as a purveyor of "green technology".
Germany's main competitors in solar electricity are Japan, the US, and China. In the wind industry, it is Denmark, Spain, and the US.
Government policy
The renewable energy sector benefited when the Alliance '90/The Greens party joined the federal government between 1998 and 2005. Support for renewable energy continued to some degree under the following governments, regardless of composition, including the current CDU/CSU and SPD coalition government starting in 2018 but did not prevent the collapse of German solar panel production. The renewable energy sector was aided initially by the Renewable Energy Sources Act that promotes renewable energy mainly by stipulating feed-in tariffs and recently also market premiums that grid operators must pay for renewable energy fed into the power grid; these premiums were reduced under governments without Green party participation. People who produce renewable energy can sell their 'product' at fixed prices for a period of 20 or 15 years. This has created a surge in the production of renewable energy.Renewable Energy Sources in Germany – key information 2009 at a glance