The new year was ushered in with stormy weather. Wind turbines were operating at top speed and in many places, the sun was shining. As a result, electricity production from renewable energies in Germany accounted for 125% of demand, according to the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.The oversupply drove down the price of electricity on the exchanges, where prices are determined by supply and demand, and for a few hours, electricity was even available for free.In 2024, an average of 59% of Germany’s electricity was generated from renewable sources. But during the winter darkness, this output is far from adequate. December 12, 2024, marked a low point when only 18% of Germany’s electricity needs were met by renewables. The rest had to be generated by coal- and gas-fired power plants, plus electricity imports from neighboring EU countries.To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videoThe EU has a common electricity market. This means that during periods of high wind and sunshine, Germany is able to export energy, while during periods of low wind and sunshine, it increasingly has to import energy. Most of the electricity that Germany purchased in 2024 came from France, which meets 70% of its energy needs with nuclear power that is available throughout the year.Imports and exports are based on the current prices on the European Energy Exchange. In addition, consumers have to pay the national taxes and levies. In Germany, around 30% of the electricity price is made up of grid charges. This refers to the cost of expanding the power grid. Taxes and levies make up about another third.Electricity prices for households and companiesIn 2024, the price of a megawatt hour on the rose to €936 ($972). It is normally between €60 and €100.Households and companies have barely even noticed the price fluctuations because they often have long-term electricity contracts. They pay their electricity supplier a fixed price for a specified period of time, as agreed in a contract.However, since the beginning of 2025, suppliers have also had to offer dynamic rates at current prices. In this way, customers who use large amounts of electricity, for example, to charge electric cars or run heat pumps, have had a financial incentive to schedule their energy consumption for times supply is high and thus prices are low.To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videoIn 2024, electricity generation from brown coal continued to decline by a good 8% in Germany, while black coal declined by more than 27%. Since 2015, the percentage of electricity generated from coal has fallen by almost half, significantly reducing CO2 emissions.2024 was also the first year that Germany was able to do without producing any of its own nuclear power. The last three nuclear power plants, which were shut down in 2023, accounted for a solid 6% of electricity product
Gio. Gen 9th, 2025
