Energy in Germany
| Electricity in Germany | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Data | ||
| Electricity coverage | n/a(total), n/a(rural); | |
| Continuity of supply | 0,2815 hrs (16,89 min) interruption per subscriber per year | |
| Installed capacity | n/a GW | |
| Share of fossil energy consumed | 62% | |
| Share of renewable energy consumed | 20%[1] | |
| GHG emissions from electricity generation (2003) | n/a Mt CO2 | |
| Average electricity use (2005) | n/a kW·h per capita | |
| Average industrial tariff (US$/kW·h, 2006) | medium: n/a | |
Energy in Germany describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Germany. The energy policy of Germany is part of the politics of Germany.
Electricity sector in Germany is the main article of electricity in Germany. The energy sector in Germany is one of the biggest in the world with state-of-the-art clean energy industry.[citation needed]
In 2002, Germany was Europe's largest consumer of electricity; electricity consumption that year totaled 512.9 billion kilowatt-hours.
The German economy is large and developed, ranking fifth in the world by GDP (PPP). Because of this, Germany consumed the fifth most energy per capita in the world in 2004.
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[edit] Overview
| Energy in Germany[2] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capita | Prim. energy | Production | Import | Electricity | CO2-emission | |
| Million | TWh | TWh | TWh | TWh | Mt | |
| 2004 | 82.5 | 4,048 | 1,582 | 2,509 | 580 | 849 |
| 2007 | 82.3 | 3,853 | 1,594 | 2,344 | 591 | 798 |
| 2008 | 82.1 | 3,899 | 1,560 | 2,453 | 587 | 804 |
| 2009 | 81.9 | 3,705 | 1,478 | 2,360 | 555 | 750 |
| 2010 | 81.8 | 3,807 | 1,528 | 2,362 | 590 | 762 |
| Change 2004-2010 | -0.9 % | -5.9 % | -3.4 % | -5.9 % | 1.7 % | -10.3 % |
| Mtoe = 11.63 TWh, Prim. energy includes energy losses that are 2/3 for nuclear power[3] | ||||||
[edit] Electricity production
The main source of electricity is coal.[4] The recent plan to build 26 new coal plants [5] is controversial in light of Germany's commitment to curbing emissions.[6] Lignite is extracted in the extreme western and eastern parts of the country, mainly in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Sachsen and Brandenburg. Considerable amounts are burned in coal plants near the mining areas to produce electricity and transporting lignite over far distances is not economically feasible; therefore, the plants are located near the extraction sites.[7]
Bituminous coal is mined in Nordrhein-Westfalen and Saarland. Most power plants burning bituminous coal operate on imported material, therefore, the plants are located not only near to the mining sites, but throughout the country.[7] Germany is the world’s largest operators of non-hydro renewables capacity in the world, including the world’s second largest operator of wind generation.
[edit] Nuclear power
Nuclear power in Germany accounted for 23% of national electricity consumption,[8] before the permanent shutdown of 8 plants in March 2011. German nuclear power began with research reactors in the 1950s and 1960s, with the first commercial plant coming online in 1969.
It has been high on the political agenda in recent decades, with continuing debates about when the technology should be phased out. The topic received renewed attention at the start of 2007, due to the political impact of the Russia-Belarus energy dispute and in 2011, after the Fukushima I nuclear accidents.
[edit] Renewable energy
The share of electricity produced from renewable energy in Germany has increased from 6.3 percent of the national total in 2000 to over 25 percent in the first half of 2012.[9] Renewable energy share of gross electricity consumption rose from 10% in 2005 to 20% in 2011. Main renewable electricity sources were in first half of 2012: Wind energy 36.6%, biomass 22.5%, hydropower 14.7%, photovoltaics (solar) 21.2% and biowaste 3.6%.[10]
In 2010, investments totaling 26 billion euros were made in Germany’s renewable energies sector. According to official figures, some 370,000 people in Germany were employed in the renewable energy sector in 2010, especially in small and medium sized companies. This is an increase of around 8 percent compared to 2009 (around 339,500 jobs), and well over twice the number of jobs in 2004 (160,500). About two-thirds of these jobs are attributed to the Renewable Energy Sources Act[11][12]
Germany has been called "the world's first major renewable energy economy".[13] In first half of 2012 25.1% of Germany's electricity supply was produced from renewable energy sources, more than the by nuclear power stations.[9]
In end of 2011, there was a cumulative installed total renewable power of 65.7 GW.[14] Although Germany claims no high irradiation, solar photovoltaic power is used massively. At 25 May 2012, a saturday, solar power reached a new record with feeding 22 GW, as much as 20 nuclear power stations, into the German power grid, which made 50% of the nations midday's electricity demand, this day.[15]
[edit] Energy consumption
Germany is one of the largest consumers of energy in the world. In 2009, it consumed energy from the following sources:[16]
- Oil 34.6%
- Bituminous coal 11.1%
- Lignite 11.4%
- Natural gas 21.7%
- Nuclear power 11.0%
- Hydro- and wind power 1.5%
- Others
Renewable energy is more present in the domestically produced energy, since Germany imports about two thirds of its energy.
Germany is the fifth largest consumer of oil in the world. Russia, Norway, and the United Kingdom are the largest exporters of oil to Germany, in that order.[17] Germany is the third largest consumer of natural gas in the world. Because of its location at the center of Europe, Germany is the fourth largest consumer of coal in the world. Germany has the largest market of electricity in Europe.
[edit] Energy efficiency
The energy efficiency bottom-up index for the whole economy (ODEX) in Germany decreased by 18% between 1991–2006, which is equivalent to an energy efficiency improvement by 1.2% per annum on average based on the ODEX, which calculates technical efficiency improvements. Since the beginning of the new century, however, the efficiency improvement measured by the ODEX slowed down. Whereas between 1991 and 2001, a continuous decrease by 1.5%/y could be observed, the decrease in the period 2001-2006 only amounted to 0.5%, which is below the EU-27 level.[18]
By 2050 Germany projects a 25% drop in electricity demand.[19]
[edit] Government energy policy
Germany is the fourth largest producer of nuclear power in the world, but in 2000, the government and the German nuclear power industry agreed to phase out all nuclear power plants by 2021.[20] as a result of an initiative with a vote result of 513 Yes, 79 No and 8 Empty. The seven oldest reactors were permanently closed after the Fukushima accident.[21] However, being an integral part of the EU's internal electricity market, Germany will continue to consume foreign nuclear electricity even after 2022.[22] In September 2010, Merkel’s government reached a late-night deal which would see the country’s 17 nuclear plants run, on average, 12 years longer than planned, with some remaining in production until well into the 2030s.[23] Then, following Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the government changed its mind again, deciding to proceed with the plan to close all nuclear plants in the country by 2022.[24]
Government policy emphasizes conservation and the development of renewable sources, such as solar, wind, biomass, water, and geothermal power. As a result of energy saving measures, energy efficiency (the amount of energy required to produce a unit of gross domestic product) has been improving since the beginning of the 1970s. The government has set the goal of meeting 80% of the country's energy demands from alternative energy by 2050.
After becoming Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel expressed concern for overreliance on Russian energy, but she received little support from others in Berlin.[25]
[edit] Sustainable energy
In September 2010, the German government announced a new aggressive energy policy with the following targets:[26]
- Reducing CO2 emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050
- Increasing the relative share of renewable energy in gross energy consumption to 18% by 2020, 30% by 2030 and 60% by 2050
- Increasing the relative share of renewable energy in gross electrical consumption to 35% by 2020 and 80% by 2050
- Increasing the national energy efficiency by cutting electrical consumption 50% below 2008 levels by 2050
[edit] See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Category:Energy in Germany |
General:
[edit] References
- ^ Erneuerbare Energien liefern mehr als ein Viertel des Stroms (in German)
- ^ IEA Key World Energy Statistics 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2006 IEA October, crude oil p.11, coal p. 13 gas p. 15
- ^ Energy in Sweden 2010, Facts and figures, The Swedish Energy Agency, Table 8 Losses in nuclear power stations Table 9 Nuclear power brutto
- ^ Electricity in Germany, EIA, Accessed December 7, 2008
- ^ Germany Plans Boom in Coal Power Plants, Business Week, Accessed December 7, 2008
- ^ German Greens fight coal-fired power station plan, The Independent, Accessed December 7, 2008
- ^ a b Gürtler, Detlef: Wirtschaftsatlas Deutschland. Rowohlt Berlin, 2010.
- ^ "17% of Germany's electricity consumption was met by renewable energy in 2010" (Press release). Federal Statistical Office of Germany. https://www.destatis.de/EN/PressServices/Press/pr/2011/04/PE11_144_433.html. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- ^ a b Electricity - Renewable Energies in the frist half of 2012
- ^ http://www.bdew.de/internet.nsf/id/20120726-pi-erneuerbare-energien-liefern-mehr-als-ein-viertel-des-stroms-de/$file/Strom_Erneuerbaren_Energien_1_Halbjahr_2012.pdf Electricity - Renewable Energies in the frist half of 2012
- ^ Renewable Energy Sources in Figures - National and International Development
- ^ Germany Leads Way on Renewables, Sets 45% Target by 2030
- ^ http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/04/germany-the-worlds-first-major-renewable-energy-economy?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-April8-2009
- ^ http://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/files/pdfs/allgemein/application/pdf/ee_in_deutschland_graf_tab.pdf
- ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/26/us-climate-germany-solar-idUSBRE84P0FI20120526
- ^ Energy Consumption in Germany
- ^ Energy Information Administration, Accessed June 25, 2008
- ^ Energy Efficiency for Germany Report
- ^ Energy saving finally gets serious as alarm bells wake ministers - Ed Davey has plugged a gaping hole in coalition energy policy by proposing serious if very belated - energy efficiency measures, but the overall policy remains a risky bet, The Guardian 29 November 2012
- ^ Germany split over green energy, BBC, Accessed April 13, 2007
- ^ Energiewende Bundestag besiegelt den Atomausstieg Zeit 30.6.2011
- ^ Severin Fischer/Oliver Geden (2011), Europeanising the German energy transition, SWP Comments 55
- ^ German Energy Blog Government Adopts Energy Concept
- ^ "Germany: Nuclear power plants to close by 2022". BBC News. May 30, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13592208.
- ^ Dependence on Russian gas worries some – but not all – European countries By David Francis, The Christian Science Monitor / March 6, 2008
- ^ http://www.bmu.de/files/pdfs/allgemein/application/pdf/energiekonzept_bundesregierung.pdf
[edit] External links
- Germany Energy Profile from the Energy Information Administration
- Electricity/Heat in Germany in 2005 from the International Energy Agency
- Statistical Energy Yearbook, 2012 from Enerdata
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