As international developers with active utility-scale projects in Germany, including a 100 MWp photovoltaic (PV) plant, we find the query "how much of Germany's energy is renewable" to be one of the most important in the global energy dialogue. Germany's Energiewende, or energy transition, is a core case study in rapid, large-scale decarbonization.
To answer this question with the required technical precision, we must first make a critical distinction between two different metrics:
1. Electricity Generation: This refers only to the electricity produced to power the grid.
2. Total Final Energy Consumption (TFEC): This is a much broader metric that includes all energy consumed, including the difficult-to-decarbonize sectors of heating (for buildings and industry) and transport (for vehicles and logistics).
For the first time, in 2023, renewable sources accounted for over half (approximately 52%) of Germany's gross electricity generation.
The Core Data: Germany's Renewable Electricity Milestone
The 2023 milestone, reported by official bodies like the Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency), is the direct result of decades of consistent policy and investment. This achievement is even more significant given the geopolitical and technical challenges of the last few years, including the final phase-out of nuclear power in April 2023.
The fact that Germany could successfully decommission its remaining nuclear plants and simultaneously achieve a renewable electricity share above 50% demonstrates the sheer scale and technical maturity of its new energy infrastructure.
Germany's renewable electricity generation is not monolithic. It is a portfolio dominated by wind and solar, with bioenergy playing a critical stabilizing role.
Wind power is, by a significant margin, the undisputed backbone of Germany's energy transition. This includes a massive, well-established onshore wind industry across the northern plains and a high-tech, expanding offshore wind sector in the North and Baltic Seas. Wind's high output, particularly in winter, makes it the primary workhorse of the renewable fleet.
Solar PV, a sector where we are actively developing large-scale projects, is the second pillar. Germany's solar expansion has been remarkable, driven by both utility-scale farms and an extremely high adoption of residential and commercial rooftop systems. The solar generation profile, highest in the summer, provides a crucial counterbalance to the wind-heavy winter, helping to stabilize energy production throughout the year.
Often overlooked by enthusiasts, bioenergy (from biomass, biogas, and biomethane) is the third-largest renewable source. From our technical perspective, its value is immense, as it provides dispatchable, or plannable baseload power. Unlike wind or solar, biomass plants can be run on demand, providing critical grid stability. Hydropower plays a similar role but is geographically limited to the south and has little room for further expansion.
The Great Challenge: Electricity vs. Total Energy Consumption
A "semi-experienced enthusiast" will correctly note that Germany's total energy landscape looks different. While the electricity sector is a success story, the share of renewables in Total Final Energy Consumption (TFEC) is much lower, hovering around 20-22%.
This discrepancy is the defining challenge of the Energiewende's next phase. The reason for the lower number is the continued reliance on fossil fuels in two key areas:
1.The Heating Sector: A majority of building and industrial heat is still generated using natural gas and oil.
2.The Transport Sector: This remains overwhelmingly dominated by petroleum products.
From our expert perspective as developers, this is precisely where next-generation technologies are. Many of which are part of our core expertise, they become technically necessary. Decarbonizing these sectors requires advanced solutions like utility-scale thermal storage, green hydrogen for industrial processes, and e-methanol for sustainable shipping and transport.
Our Expert Conclusion
To answer the query directly: Renewable energy provided over 52% of Germany's electricity in 2023. This is a landmark achievement, led by wind and solar, and proves that a major industrial economy can be powered by renewables.
However, the share in total energy use is lower (around 20-22%), which defines the next phase of the energy transition. As developers active in the German market, we view the Energiewende as a technically robust and successful model that is now moving to solve the final, most complex challenges of heat and transport.
Resources
Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA - Federal Network Agency): https://www.bundesnetzagentur.deFraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE): https://www.ise.fraunhofer.deClean Energy Wire (CLEW): https://www.cleanenergywire.orgIEA (International Energy Agency) - Germany: https://www.iea.org/countries/germany