German energy consumption up 3 percent in 2021 as renewables share declines

The demand for electricity and natural gas in Germany is expected to rise by 3 percent this year compared to 2020, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes, citing a new report by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) set to be published this week. The total annual consumption is likely to reach 561 billion kilowatt-hours this year up from 544 billion in 2020, when energy consumption fell significantly because of the pandemic. The expected consumption will still be below the pre-pandemic level of 568 billion kilowatt-hours consumed in 2019, FAZ writes. According to the BDEW, natural gas consumption is on the rise in Germany. The total annual gas consumption is expected to reach 1,013 billion kilowatt-hours this year, 5 percent more than in 2020 and 2 percent more than in 2019.

A seperate report by energy market research group AG Energiebilanzen (AGEB) reports a 2 percent drop in contributions by renewable energy sources to primary energy consumption in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same period the previous year, with the share of renewables in total energy accounting for 16.1 percent. Hydropower plants increased their contribution by 14 percent, while onshore wind farms reduced their share by 18 percent and offshore wind farms by 14 percent compared to 2020, AGEB reports. Electricity generation from solar PV systems remained nearly unchanged from 2020. AGEB previously reported that energy-related CO2 emissions in Germany were estimated to be 4 percent higher in 2021 than last year as overall energy consumption grew while the share of renewables in total energy consumption slightly declined.