Analysis: Wind and solar power overtake fossil fuels in Germany for first time ever
AI Analysis
Summary
<p>More of Germany’s electricity came from wind and solar power than fossil fuels for the first time ever in 2025.…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-wind-and-solar-power-overtake-fossil-fuels-in-germany-for-first-time-ever">Analysis: Wind and solar power overtake fossil fuels in Germany for first time ever</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org">Carbon Brief</a>.</p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">More of Germany’s electricity came from wind and solar power than fossil fuels for the first time ever in 2025.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Together, wind and solar power generated 225 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity – accounting for 44% of the total in 2025 – with just 217TWh (43%) coming from fossil fuels.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Solar and onshore wind have grown rapidly under Germany’s “<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/timeline-past-present-future-germany-energiewende/">Energiewende</a>” strategy over the past two decades, as the nation transitions away from both coal and nuclear power.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Renewables have recently faced mounting <a href="https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/factcheck/solar">opposition</a> from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and the current <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-what-does-the-new-german-coalition-government-mean-for-climate-and-energy">coalition government</a> has been trying to develop new gas-power plants.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nevertheless, Carbon Brief analysis of Energy Institute <a href="https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review">data</a> – shown in the chart below – illustrates how wind and solar have continued growing, emerging as the nation’s largest power source.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The success of renewables in Germany mirrors the EU as a whole, which also saw wind and solar <a href="https://ember-energy.org/latest-updates/wind-and-solar-generated-more-power-than-fossil-fuels-in-the-eu-for-the-first-time-in-2025/">overtake</a> fossil-fuel power generation in 2025 for the first time.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img alt="Wind and solar generated more electricity than fossil fuels in Germany for the first time every in 2025" class="wp-image-80257" height="665" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/wind-and-solar-gener-1-1024x665.png" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">“Other renewables” includes hydropower, bioenergy, geothermal and other renewable sources not otherwise stated. Source: Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, <a href="https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review" rel="nofollow">2026</a>. </figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Germany has various <a href="https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/the-carbon-brief-profile-germany/index.html">targets</a> in place that require a rapid expansion of wind and solar power, including cutting economy-wide emissions to net-zero by 2045. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The nation is also aiming to increase renewables’ share of electricity consumption to 80% by 2030 to achieve a “<a href="https://www.bundeswirtschaftsministerium.de/Redaktion/EN/Dossier/electricity-market-of-the-future.html">largely climate neutral</a>” power system by 2035. It aims to decarbonise its electricity entirely once coal power has been phased out, which has a deadline of “<a href="https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-en/service/archive/kohleausstiegsgesetz-1717014">no later than</a>” 2038.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">(The renewables targets also include electricity generated from hydropower and <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/how-germany-generates-its-electricity">bioenergy</a>. The latter produces a relatively large share of Germany’s power – roughly a <a href="https://ember-energy.org/data/electricity-data-explorer/?entity=Germany">tenth</a> in 2025.)</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Germany has to rely on renewables more than neighbours, such as France and the UK, to achieve its climate goals. This is due to its phaseout of nuclear power, which is a key part of the “<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/timeline-past-present-future-germany-energiewende/">Energiewende</a>” strategy.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Nuclear power has long faced widespread public opposition in Germany. This year, the centre-right chancellor Friedrich Merz <a href="https://www.neimagazine.com/news/germany-rethinks-nuclear-phaseout/">described</a> the nuclear phaseout as a “strategic mistake”, but the government has <a href="https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/germanys-new-energy-minister-rules-out-return-conventional-nuclear">ruled out</a> a return to conventional nuclear power.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The country has an official coal phaseout date of 2038, but experts <a href="https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/germanys-coal-exit-quietly-progressing-and-likely-be-completed-2032-researcher">say</a> the country is on track to eliminate coal from its power supply years earlier. This is despite some <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/iran-war-analysis-how-60-nations-have-responded-to-the-global-energy-crisis/">pressure</a> to temporarily slow the transition away from coal during the recent <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-what-does-the-iran-war-mean-for-the-energy-transition-and-climate-action">energy crisis</a>.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">(Very few outside the AfD are <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy04ykxrj5eo">calling</a> to scrap the coal phaseout altogether, but the government will publish a review of the timelines in August.)</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While coal generation has fallen quickly, even as nuclear was being phased out, some <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/janrosenow_i-often-read-on-social-media-that-germany-activity-7393676392548364289-2up6/">argue</a> that coal could have been cut more quickly if nuclear had remained. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Gas-power expansion has also been <a href="https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/christian-lindner-erdgas-atomkraft-eu-kommission-1.5499498">framed</a> by the government in recent years as an essential component of Germany’s transition away from coal and nuclear power, to support a renewables-heavy grid.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The current government under Merz has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/germany-plans-investor-friendly-reforms-gas-power-stations-2026-07-06/">tried</a> to boost gas and recently <a href="https://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2026/kw28-de-versorgungssicherheit-strom-1192538">adopted</a> a law to provide state support for new gas-fired power plants. The <a href="https://www.bundeswirtschaftsministerium.de/Redaktion/EN/Dossier/hydrogen.html">plan</a> is for these plants to be converted to run on “<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/in-depth-qa-does-the-world-need-hydrogen-to-solve-climate-change/">green hydrogen</a>” by 2045, in order to meet the climate-neutrality goal.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Germany <a href="https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/germany-approves-record-capacity-new-onshore-wind-turbines-2025">aims</a> to install 115 gigawatts (GW) of onshore wind by 2030 and approved a record 20.8GW of new capacity in 2025. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Meanwhile, solar generation has <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/nicolasfulghum.bsky.social/post/3mrfg37qi4c2m">reached</a> unprecedented levels during the hot summer of 2026.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">However, the government’s planned grid <a href="https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/qa-will-germanys-upcoming-electricity-grid-reform-slow-down-energy-transition">reforms</a> have been criticised by the renewables industry for risking slowing down the energy transition. Under the proposals, renewables developers would only be granted automatic grid connections in areas with limited grid capacity if they waive compensation for future <a href="https://roadnighttaylor.co.uk/connectology/what-is-curtailment-in-electricity-networks/">curtailed</a> generation.</p>
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<p>The post <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-wind-and-solar-power-overtake-fossil-fuels-in-germany-for-first-time-ever">Analysis: Wind and solar power overtake fossil fuels in Germany for first time ever</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org">Carbon Brief</a>.</p>