German Renewable Energy Production Increases in 2004

0 Comments | Renewable Energy Today, Feb 24, 2005

Reuters recently reported that new data released earlier this week by both the German environment ministry and renewable energy organizations reveals that Germany's renewable energy sources produced 56 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity in 2004, or 9.3 percent of the country's power consumption, up from 7.9 percent the previous year.

According to Reuters, renewables increased from 3.1 to 3.6 percent of Germany's total energy sources in 2004. Reuters said the data indicates that wind power made up 44 percent of Germany's renewable energy last year, more than hydropower sources, which contributed 38 percent of the nation's renewable electricity.

"Ten years ago, nobody was able to imagine that wind energy would produce more electricity than hydropower," said German Wind Energy Association (BWE) official Peter Ahmels. "In 2020, wind energy will cover 20 percent of German power use and will be cheaper than power produced from conventional energy sources."

(REUTERS: 2/22)