Solar was biggest source of electricity in Germany in June

Germany achieved a remarkable milestone in the month of June, with solar – for the first time – becoming the largest single contributor to its electricity output for the month.

The graph above shows that solar contributed 19 per cent in the month of June, taking the total renewables share to 52 per cent. Nuclear provided 12 per cent while brown coal, gas and black coal made up the rest.

Another interesting aspect is the record low output of lignite (brown coal generation), which fell to just over 7TWh for the month of June, about 40 per cent below recent levels, thanks to the relatively low wholesale electricity prices and a high carbon cost.

German energy analyst Bruno Burger also noted the changes over the first six months of the year, when renewables provided a total of 46 per cent of Germany’s electricity production.

As he tweeted below, solar only trailed black coal and gas over the first six months by a small amount, despite its obvious challenges in the winter months.

Over the first half, wind and solar both grew, while brown coal and black coal production were both down by more than 20 per cent.

And here is one more interesting chart, showing the daily contribution of renewables over the first six months, and in July to date. It shows that apart from one or two days, the share was usually 30 to 40 per cent of more, and hit a record of 77 per cent on June 8.

Only on one day did the share of renewables fall below 20 per cent. For the past three months, renewables have provided at least 37 per cent of the daily supply every single day, and at least 40 per cent on all but two days.