Renewables accounted for more than half of Germany's electricity generation in January and February this year, driven by favorable weather conditions.
In the first quarter of 2022, Germany generated 74.5 billion kWh of renewable energy, an increase of nearly 25 percent year-on-year, according to new analysis by the Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Center in Baden-Württemberg and the Federal Association for Energy and Water Management (BDEW).
The "unusually windy" start of the year, especially in February, pushed the share of renewables to 47 percent and 62 percent of electricity consumption in January and February, respectively, with record wind power in February.
In the first quarter of this year, solar photovoltaics contributed 9.6 billion kWh, and March's solar radiation was above average.
Á fyrsta ársfjórðungi 2022 náði orkuframleiðsla þýskra sólarverkefna 9,6 milljörðum kWh
The analysis found that in the two months at the beginning of the year, renewable energy accounted for 54 percent of Germany's total electricity consumption.
"The high share of renewables in the first few months of the year should not obscure the fact that the expansion of renewables is too slow," said Kerstin Andreae, chairman of the BDEW executive committee.
Andreae said that with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, rapid independence from fossil fuels was crucial, and the move to expand renewable energy was "more urgent than ever."
Fyrr í þessum mánuði, í viðleitni til að draga úr því að treysta á rússneska olíu, setti Þýskaland sér markmið um að hraða þróun sólar- og vindverkefna til að ná 100 prósentum endurnýjanlegri raforku fyrir árið 2035. Fyrir þann tíma, af uppsettri endurnýjanlegri orkugetu, verður sólarorka orðin 200GW.
Andreae added: "In order to provide more space for wind turbines and photovoltaic systems, we need a faster planning and approval process."
Similar comments were made by the solar industry association Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft (BSW) earlier this year. The association has called for additional barriers to be "broken" if Germany wants to reach 200GW of solar capacity by 2030.
In addition, the government has launched an initiative to support the construction of solar energy projects on agricultural land to consolidate Germany's agricultural photovoltaic projects.
Á síðasta ári leiddi Þýskaland ESB með 5,3GW af uppsettri sólarorkugetu. Í lok árs 2021 er Þýskaland með næstum 60GW uppsett afl. Til að ná 2030 markmiðinu þarf Þýskaland að meira en þrefalda árlega uppsett sólarorku getu sína.