Coal In 2008, power from coal supplied 291TWh or 46% of Germany's overall production of 631TWh, but this dropped to 118TWh (24%) in 2020. In 2010 Germany was still one of the world's largest consumers of
coal at 4th place behind
China (2,733TWh),
USA (2,133TWh) and
India (569TWh). By 2019 it had fallen to 8th, behind smaller countries such as
South Korea and
South Africa. Germany has shut its last hardcoal mine in December 2018. Germany still has three large open pit mines for lignite:
Garzweiler surface mine near
Köln, the
Lausitzer Braunkohlerevier and the
Oberlausitzer Bergbaurevier both near the
Polish border. In January 2019 the German
Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment initiated Germany's plans to entirely phase out and shut down the 84 remaining
coal-fired plants on its territory by 2038. This is called
Kohleausstieg (
Coal phase-out). File:HKW Nossener Brucke, Dresden, Germany.jpg|
Gas power station Nossener Brücke in
Dresden File:Scholven Powerplant.jpg|
Coal-fired power plant Scholven Nuclear power In 1969,
Siemens and
AEG founded
Kraftwerk Union AG (KWU). In 1977, Siemens got 100% of the shares. KWU was the only significant nuclear constructor in Germany. In 2000, the nuclear share was 3% of Siemens' business. In 2001, Siemens Nuclear Power (SNP), the nuclear division of Siemens, merged with
Framatome to form the nuclear technology company
Framatome ANP. In March 2011, after the Fukushima accident had begun, Siemens sold its stake in Areva NP to
Areva. The installed
nuclear power capacity in Germany was 20GW in 2008 and 21GW in 2004. The production of nuclear power was 148TWh in 2008 (sixth top by 5.4% of world total) and 167TWh in 2004 (fourth top by 6.1% of world total). In 2009, nuclear power production saw a 19% reduction compared to 2004, and its share had declined smoothly over time from 27% to 23%. The share of renewable and electricity increased as well as fossil fuels such as natural gas and lignite burning, substituting for nuclear power. These included Unterweser, Krümmel, Biblis A and B, Philippsburg 1, Isar 1, Neckarwestheim 1, and Brunsbüttel. While the remaining nine reactors were scheduled for decommissioning by the end of 2022, the
Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis led to a brief policy adjustment. To mitigate potential energy shortages caused by the loss of Russian gas supplies, the final three units—Isar 2, Emsland, and Neckarwestheim 2—remained operational until 15 April 2023, when they were officially disconnected from the grid.
Renewable electricity in 2013
Germany has been described as "the world's first major
renewable energy economy." The sector is primarily based on wind, solar, and biomass. Germany held the world's largest installed
photovoltaic capacity until 2014, and by 2016, it ranked third globally with 40 GW. Similarly, wind power capacity grew to 50 GW by 2016, including over 4 GW from offshore installations. Expansion accelerated significantly in the following decade; by the beginning of 2026, installed solar capacity reached 100 GW, while total wind capacity climbed to 73 GW, driven by a record expansion in both onshore and offshore sectors. Former Chancellor
Angela Merkel, along with a vast majority of her compatriots, maintained that "as the first big industrialized nation, we can achieve such a transformation toward efficient and renewable energies, with all the opportunities that brings for exports, developing new technologies and jobs." Following this vision, the share of renewable electricity in gross electricity consumption rose from 3.4% in 1990 to exceed 10% by 2005, 30% by 2015, and 50% by 2023. By the end of 2024, renewable sources accounted for approximately 56% of Germany's electricity generation. However, the transition in the transport and heating sectors remained considerably slower than in the power sector. By the end of 2015, there were more than 23,000
wind turbines and 1.4 million
solar PV systems distributed across Germany. Following a decade of accelerated expansion, these numbers grew significantly; by early 2026, the country hosted approximately 30,000 onshore wind turbines and over 4 million solar PV systems, the latter driven by a surge in residential installations and commercial solar farms. Employment in the sector has followed a similar upward trajectory. From 160,500 jobs in 2004 and around 370,000 in 2010, the renewable energy workforce expanded to over 450,000 people by 2025, particularly within small and medium-sized enterprises. Historically, about two-thirds of these jobs were attributed to the
Renewable Energy Sources Act. Germany's federal government is working to increase
renewable energy commercialization, with a particular focus on
offshore wind farms. A major challenge is the development of sufficient network capacities for transmitting the power generated in the North Sea to the large industrial consumers in southern parts of the country. Germany's energy transition, the
Energiewende, designates a significant change in
energy policy from 2011. The term encompasses a reorientation of policy from demand to supply and a shift from centralized to distributed generation (for example, producing heat and power in very small cogeneration units), which should replace
overproduction and avoidable energy consumption with energy-saving measures and increased efficiency. At the end of 2020, Germany had 2.3 GWh of home battery storage, often in conjunction with solar panels, and home storage increased to 15.4 GWh at the end of 2024 while large-scale storage was 2.3 GWh. 72 GW of Germany's 100 GW of solar power, and 47 GW (2/3) of wind power, received a fixed feed-in tariff, and had thus little incentive to self-
curtail during surplus power when grid price is zero or below. In 2024, Germany had more than 400 hours of
negative electricity prices, supplying low cost input for storage. == Electricity prices ==