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Who owns the German Energiewende? Not Utilities...

image credit: Source: Agora Energiwende
Laurent Segalen's picture
Laurent Segalen 24,793
CEO, Megawatt-X

Laurent is a Franco-British financier, founder of Megawatt-X, the London-based global platform for Renewable Energy Assets. For the past twenty years, Laurent has been trading and managing...

  • Member since 2019
  • 178 items added with 158,784 views
  • Jan 19, 2021
  • 429 views

Utilities only own 20% of the german renewable Energy assets. The rest is owned by individuals, farmers (biomass), funds, developers. Extremely decentralised and democratic system. Also, 50% of german power generation in 2020 came from renewable sources.

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Matt Chester's picture
Matt Chester on Jan 19, 2021

Wow, that 20% and 50% are both eye-popping numbers. Does anywhere in the world replicate that first number? I know there are certain countries that can rely on extraordinary geographical assets (hydro, geothermal) to get high penetrations, but it seems like Germany is doing it in a more replicable way? 

Bob Meinetz's picture
Bob Meinetz on Jan 19, 2021

Your attempt to credit renewables for the effects of a global pandemic are duly noted. But here are more representative statistics, with links:

  • Germany was the largest consumer of natural gas in Europe in 2019, consuming 8.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas.
  • Natural gas represented 25% of Germany’s total primary energy consumption, and consumption of natural gas increased slightly in 2019.
  • In 2018, imports accounted for about 97% of total natural gas supply. Russia, the Netherlands, and Norway are the largest natural gas exporters to Germany.
  • Germany has the most expensive electricity of any non-island country in the world.
Laurent Segalen's picture
Thank Laurent for the Post!
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