German coal use crashes whilst renewables surge

Despite Germany’s nuclear power phase out in 2022 and 2023, the use of coal in electricity generation has plunged by nearly half in the first half of 2024 - that is compared to the first half of 2021. Meanwhile renewable energy production is surging. This is no freak result, merely the continuation of a trend.

Compared to the first half of 2021 over thirty per cent less coal was used in power generation in the first half of 2024 . The first half of 2021 shows the position before the Greens entered Government following the General Election in September 2021. That is before Green Party (Die Grunen) Energy Minister Robert Habeck (formally Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action) orchestrated the nuclear phase-out.

Meanwhile (compared to the first half of 2021) renewable energy production has increased by nearly 30 per cent in the same period. Since the beginning of 2023 renewable energy has been responsible for the generation of more than half of German electricity production. By comparison coal’s contribution is going in the opposite downward direction, and may account for no more than or even less than 20 per cent of electricity production in 2024.

The current Government has given some big boosters for renewable energy. Renewable energy contracts to the value of around 8 per cent of total German electricity production are being issued in 2024 alone. At this rate coal powered electricity will be eliminated by 2028 - ahead of the 2030 policy target for coal phase-out. Just look at the graph in Figure 1 below to see the trend since 2015.

Figure 1 Comparison of production of German electricity from coal, renewables, nuclear and gas 2015-2024

Colour code for Figure 1: nuclear = light blue, coal = brown, dark blue = renewables, gas = purple

The source of the data is Ember (see HERE). Please note that the figures used here only compare the main fuels - a small proportion of total electricity generation is also accounted for in use of oil and imports/exports.

In Figures 2 and 3 below you can see the comparisons between use of the major fuels in electricity production in 2015, 2021 and the first half of 2024. The comparison (in Figure 3) between the first half of 2021 and 2024 is significant because this was before and after the nuclear phase-out.

Figure 2 Relative sizes of contributions towards production of German electricity from coal, renewables, nuclear and gas in 2015

Colour code for pie charts: nuclear = light blue, coal = brown, dark blue = renewables, gas = green.

Figure 3 Comparison of production of German electricity from coal, renewables, nuclear and gas in first half of 2021 compared with first half of 2024.

What can be said in conclusion? We can say that whatever the arguments may be about the early closure of Germany’s nuclear power stations, coal is itself now being rapidly phased out. It should be remembered that in political terms that a lot of the original inspiration (and continuing force behind) for the strength of Germany’s renewable energy programme has been anti-nuclear politics.

It is all very well to argue that even more coal would have been phased out if not for the early nuclear phase-out. On the other hand the drive for, and installation of, renewable energy would probably not have been anything like as strong. There would have been rather less renewable energy.

Thanks to Yvonne Toke for converting the data into charts