Renewables cover 61% of Germany’s electricity needs so far this year

Favourable wind conditions drove an increase in renewable electricity consumption in Germany during the first three quarters of 2026, according to preliminary figures by energy industry association BDEW and research institute ZSW. Renewables accounted for a record 60.7 percent of the country’s electricity consumption, a four percentage point increase compared to the same period the previous year, despite a parallel rise in gross electricity consumption of 1.6 percent. 

In total, renewable energy sources generated 237.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity between January and September, an increase of 8.7 percent compared to the first three quarters of 2025.

The increase was due largely to significantly higher electricity generation from onshore wind (+9.1%) and offshore wind (+19.8%) turbines, mostly thanks to favourable weather conditions, as well as solar power (+13.9%), which benefited greatly from capacity expansion, BDEW said. Meanwhile, lower rainfall led to a drop in hydropower generation of 14.3 percent. Electricity generation from biomass also declined slightly by 2.1 percent.

Renewable energy sources are at the heart of Germany’s move to climate neutrality. The country aims to bring the renewables share in electricity consumption to 80 percent by 2030. However, electricity grids have not kept pace with the expansion of renewables. 

To ensure that new installations can quickly be connected to distribution networks, Germany needed to swiftly agree amendments to its renewable energy law and advance a planned acceleration package for distribution grid expansion, including simpler permitting and environmental checks, BDEW head Kerstin Andreae said. Clear rules for grid connections were also needed, Andreae added, referring to a legislation package currently debated in parliament, as renewables increasingly compete with industry users, battery storage or heat pumps for limited grid connections.