A Shift in the Wind: Fossil Fuels Overpower Renewables for First Time in Two Years
Traditional power sources exceed renewable alternatives for the first time in recent two years.
Let's chat about an interesting twist in energy production! At the beginning of 2025, Germany saw a significant change, with conventional energy sources producing more electricity than renewables for the first time in two years. This shift was largely due to a decrease in wind power generation by 29.2%, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office [1].
The drop in wind power generation caused electricity production from renewables to plummet by 17.0% year-on-year between January and March [1]. Interestingly, this meant that coal, natural gas, and other fossil fuels saw a surge of 19.3% in their production during this period [1]. As a result, a whopping 119.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity were produced and fed into the grid in the first quarter of 2025, a scant 1.9% lower than at the beginning of 2024 [1].
While overall renewable energy took a hit, wind power remained Germany’s primary source of electricity generation, though it was closely followed by coal [1]. Natural gas accounted for a substantial 20.6% of the total electricity mix, a noticeable jump from the previous year [1]. Meanwhile, photovoltaic power generation increased considerably, representing a 9.2% share of the total electricity mix [1]. Biogas and hydropower made up 6.1% and 3.8% of the mix, respectively [1].
During this period, Germany's electricity imports increased by 14.9% to 19.3 billion kilowatt-hours, while exports decreased by 3% to 16.2 billion kilowatt-hours [1].
A deeper dive reveals that the main culprit for the shift in energy production was unusually low wind speeds during the first quarter of 2025, causing wind energy's share of electricity generation to drop from 38.5% in Q1 2024 to 27.8% in the same period of 2025 [1]. This decline in wind power forced an increase in reliance on fossil fuels [1][2].
This unexpected turn showcases the challenges facing a stable, decarbonized power system, especially in light of weather variability and the ongoing need for additional storage, grid flexibility, and diversified renewable capacity to meet decarbonization targets [3][4].
[1] ntv.de[2] rts[3] IEA Report on electricity markets[4] German Renewable Energy Campaign (Bundesverband Erneuerbare Energie)
champions renewable energy growth and sustainability, and highlights the challenges faced in realizing a stable, decarbonized power system: www.erneuerbaerenergie.de.
- The current shift in energy production, as seen in Germany, emphasizes the need for a review of the community policy on renewable energy and energy policy to address the challenges in maintaining a stable, decarbonized power system.
- Given the impact of weather variability on renewable energy sources such as wind power, the science of climate-change and its consequences for energy production should be incorporated more thoroughly into energy policies.
- As the industry shifts towards more renewable energy, the finance sector plays a pivotal role in funding research and development to improve renewable energy technology and storage solutions.
- To meet environmental-science goals and combat climate-change, it's crucial for energy policy to prioritize the expansion of renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydropower, while minimizing the reliance on fossil fuels.
