Electricity sector in Germany


Germany's electrical grid is part of the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe. In 2019, Germany produced 516 TWh of electricity of which 46% was from renewable energy sources, 29% from coal, and 10% from natural gas. This is a major change from 2018, when a full 38% was from coal, only 40% was from renewable energy sources, and 8% was from natural gas.
Even though renewables production increased significantly between 1991 and 2017, fossil power production remained at more or less constant levels. In the same period, nuclear power production decreased, much of the increase in renewables had to be spent to fill the gap left behind by closing nuclear power plants. Germany will phase-out nuclear power by 2022, meaning that future growth in renewables will be needed to fill the gap again. Germany also plans to phase out coal, but not until 2038.

Electricity prices

German prices in 2017 were 29.16 cents per kwh for residential customers, an increase of 35% over 2008.
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German households and small businesses pay the second highest electricity price in Europe for many years in a row now.
More than half of the power price consists of components determined by the state.
These include charges for using power grids, levies for financing investment in renewable energy and for other kinds of taxes.

Electricity trade in Germany

Germany, the largest exporter of electricity with 10% of the overall exports, reinforced its position as a net exporter by 20% during the year 2010 Germany has grid interconnections with neighboring countries representing 10% of domestic capacity.

Electricity per person and by power source

Germany produced power per person in 2008 equal to the EU-15 average and 77% of the OECD average.
On 8 May 2016 renewables supplied 87.6% of Germany's national electricity consumption, albeit under extremely favourable weather conditions.

Mode of production

According to the IEA the gross production of electricity was 631TWh in 2008 which gave the seventh position among the world top producers in 2010. The top seven countries produced 59% of electricity in 2008. The top producers were the United States, China, Japan, Russia, India, Canada and Germany.
In 2019, Germany generated electricity from the following sources: 29% coal, 25% wind, 14% nuclear, 10% natural gas, 9.1% solar, 8.7% biomass, 3.7% hydroelectricity.

Coal

In 2008, power from coal supplied 291TWh or 46% of Germany's overall production of 631TWh, but this dropped to 204TWh in 2018 and 151TWh in 2019. In 2010 Germany was still one of the world's largest consumers of coal at 4th place behind China, USA and India. By 2019 it had fallen to 8th, behind smaller countries such as South Korea and South Africa.
In January 2019 the German Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment initiates Germany's plans to entirely phase out and shut down the 84 remaining coal-fired plants on its territory by 2038.

Nuclear power

Germany has defined a firm active phase-out policy of nuclear power. Eight nuclear power plants were permanently shut down after the Fukushima accident. All nuclear power plants are to be phased out by the end of 2022. According to BMU this is an opportunity for future generations.
Siemens is the only significant nuclear constructor in Germany and the nuclear share was 3% of their business in 2000. In 2006 large international bribes by Siemens in the energy and telecommunication business were revealed. The case was investigated, for example, in Nigeria, the United States, Greece and South Korea.
The installed nuclear power capacity in Germany was 20GW in 2008 and 21GW in 2004. The production of nuclear power was 148TWh in 2008 and 167TWh in 2004.
In 2009, nuclear power production saw a 19% reduction compared to 2004, and its share had declined smoothly over time from 27% to 23%. The share of renewable electricity increased, substituting for nuclear power.

Renewable electricity

has been called "the world's first major renewable energy economy".
Renewable energy in Germany is mainly based on wind, solar and biomass.
Germany had the world's largest photovoltaic installed capacity until 2014, and as of 2016, it is third with 40 GW.
It is also the world's third country by installed wind power capacity, at 50 GW, and second for offshore wind, with over 4 GW.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, along with a vast majority of her compatriots, believes, "As the first big industrialized nation, we can achieve such a transformation toward efficient and renewable energies, with all the opportunities that brings for exports, developing new technologies and jobs".
The share of renewable electricity rose from just 3.4% of gross electricity consumption in 1990 to exceed 10% by 2005, 20% by 2011 and 30% by 2015, reaching 36.2% of consumption by year end 2017.
As with most countries, the transition to renewable energy in the transport and heating and cooling sectors has been considerably slower.
More than 23,000 wind turbines and 1.4 million solar PV systems are distributed all over the country.
According to official figures, around 370,000 people were employed in the renewable energy sector in 2010, particularly in small and medium-sized companies. This is an increase of around 8% compared to 2009, and well over twice the number of jobs in 2004. About two-thirds of these jobs are attributed to the Renewable Energy Sources Act.
Germany's federal government is working to increase renewable energy commercialization, with a particular focus on offshore wind farms.
A major challenge is the development of sufficient network capacities for transmitting the power generated in the North Sea to the large industrial consumers in southern parts of the country.
Germany's energy transition, the Energiewende, designates a significant change in energy policy from 2011.
The term encompasses a reorientation of policy from demand to supply and a shift from centralized to distributed generation, which should replace overproduction and avoidable energy consumption with energy-saving measures and increased efficiency.

Transmission network

Grid owners included, in 2008, RWE, EnBW, Vattenfall and E.ON. According to the European Commission the electricity producers should not own the electricity grid to ensure open competition. The European Commission accused E.ON of the misuse of markets in February 2008. Consequently, E.ON sold its share of the network. As of July 2016 the four German TSOs are:
In Germany, there also exists a single-phase AC grid operated at 16.7Hz to supply power to rail transport, see list of installations for 15 kV AC railway electrification in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Elbe Crossing 1

Elbe Crossing 1 is a group of masts providing an overhead crossing of a 220 kV three-phase alternating current electric powerline across the River Elbe. Constructed between 1959 and 1962 as part of the line from Stade to Hamburg north, it consists of four masts. Each of the two portal masts is a guyed mast 50 metres in height with a crossbeam at a height of 33 metres. One of these masts stands on the Schleswig-Holstein bank of the Elbe and the other on the Lower Saxony bank. Two identical carrying masts 189 metres in height, each weighing 330 tons, ensure the necessary passage height of 75 metres over the Elbe. One stands on the island of Lühesand, the other in the Buhnenfeld on the Schleswig-Holstein side.
Because of the swampy terrain, each mast's foundation is built on pilings driven into the ground. The Lühesand portal mast rests on 41 pilings and the one on the Buhnenfeld on 57. In contrast to the usual construction of such lattice-steel transmission towers, the direction of the line passes diagonally over the square ground cross section of the pylon, resulting in savings in material. The two crossbeams for the admission of the six conductor cables are at a height of 166 metres and 179 metres. The mast on the Buhnenfeld bears at a height of 30 metres a radar facility belonging to the Water and Navigation Office of the Port of Hamburg. Each portal mast has stairs and gangways for maintenance of flight safety beacons, and has a hoist for heavy loads.

Elbe Crossing 2

Elbe Crossing 2 is a group of transmission towers providing overhead lines for four 380 kV three-phase alternating current circuits across the German river Elbe. It was constructed between 1976 and 1978 to supplement Elbe Crossing 1, and consists of four towers:
The enormous height of the two carrying pylons ensures that the passage height requirement of 75 metres over the Elbe demanded by German authorities is met. The height requirement ensures that large ships are able to enter Hamburg's deep-water port.