Renewable energy in Germany

At the end of 2006 renewable energy in Germany provided 11.9% of Germany's energy production. Since 1997, Germany and the other states of the European Union have been working towards a target of 12% renewable energy by 2010.

The following table shows the increases in production over recent years, and the percentage of national energy supply contributed by each in 2006 [1]:

Fuel type	2004	2005	2006	2006
Hydropower	21.7 GWh	20.8 GWh	21.6 GWh	3.5%
Wind power	25.5 GWh	27.2 GWh	30.5 GWh	5.0%
Biomass	8.4 GWh	11.2 GWh	15.5 GWh	2.5%
Landfill biogas	2.1 GWh	3.0 GWh	3.6 GWh	0.6%
Photovoltaic	0.6 GWh	1.3 GWh	2.0 GWh	0.3%
Total	58.3 GWh	63.5 GWh	73.2 GWh	11.9%

Wind power

Germany is the world's largest user of wind power with an installed capacity of 20,621MW in 2006, ahead of Spain which had an installed capacity of 11,615MW.[2] More than 18,000 wind turbines are located in the German federal area and the country has plans to build more wind turbines.[3]

Photovoltaic solar energy

Completed in 2006, the 12 MW Solarpark Gut Erlasee photovoltaic system, near Arnstein in Bavaria, is currently the world's largest PV system [4]. The 10 MW Solarpark Bavaria in Germany was also the largest PV installation when completed in 2005, covering 25 hectares (62 acres) with 57,600 photovoltaic panels [5].

At the end of 2004, 79% of all European electricity production capacity from photovoltaic was in Germany, where 794 MWp had been installed. The European Commission anticipates that Germany may have installed around 4,500 MWp by 2010. [6].

See also

• Nuclear power in Germany
• Passivhaus
• Renewable energy in the European Union
• Energy policy of the European Union
• Wind power in Germany

External links

• Parliamentary State Secretary Astrid Klug: Renewable Energy Development in Germany