Arbeitsgemeinschaft Energiebilanzen

The decline in energy consumption in Germany has slowed. In 2024, primary energy consumption fell by 1.1 % to 10,538 PJ or 359.6 Mtce compared to the previous year (Figure 1). In 2023, the decline was still just under 8 %. According to calculations by the Working Group on Energy Balances (AG Energiebilanzen), energy consumption in Germany is currently just under 30 % below the previous peak of 14,905 PJ reached in 1990, and thus at a level that had been achieved in the old federal states at the beginning of the 1970s.

The warmer weather compared to the previous year reduced consumption in the heating dependent segment of energy consumption. Due to the continuing lack of economic recovery, economic developments had no significant consumption-increasing effects on energy consumption. According to the AG Energiebilanzen, however, continuing population growth and falling energy prices led to increases in consumption. In addition, special statistical effects resulting from the phase-out of nuclear energy and the gradual replacement of fossil fuels in electricity generation by renewable energies led to additional primary energy savings.

The consumption of mineral oil fell slightly overall in 2024 by 0.9 % to 3,843 PJ (131.1 Mtce). While petrol consumption rose by 2.4 %, diesel fuel consumption fell by 2.2 %. Sales of light heating oil were also down on the previous year, falling by 4.7 %. Sales of aviation fuel remained at the previous year’s level. By contrast, deliveries of raw benzene to the chemical industry increased by 13 %.

Natural gas consumption rose by 4 % in 2024 to 2,724 PJ (93.0 Mtce). The increase in demand is mainly attributable to lower prices, even though wholesale prices are still well above pre-energy crisis levels. Energy-intensive industries in particular increased their use of natural gas in 2024. Households and consumers in the trade, commerce and services sector consumed slightly less natural gas. Electricity generation from natural gas rose by around 3 %, while district heating from natural gas remained at the previous year’s level.

Hard coal consumption fell by a total of 10 % to 774 PJ (26.4 Mtce) in 2024. The use of hard coal in power stations for electricity generation declined by around 30 % as a result of an overall drop in electricity generation, increased electricity production from renewable energies and higher electricity imports from neighbouring countries. By contrast, sales to the iron and steel industry increased by around 7 % due to higher domestic pig iron production.

Lignite consumption fell by 10.2 % to 803 PJ (27.4 Mtce) in 2024. The decline in production largely mirrored the trend in deliveries to public utility power plants. This development reflects the increasing production of electricity from renewable energies and the reduction in lignite-fired power generation capacities as part of the ongoing phase-out of coal.

In 2024, 24 bn kWh (88 PJ) more electricity was imported from abroad than exported from Germany. This means that Germany was once again a net importer of electricity. Exports fell by 8 %, while imports rose by 16 % compared with the previous year. The current import surplus is a sign of a functioning European internal market. Higher electricity imports do not mean dependence on other European countries, nor do they indicate domestic shortages.

The contribution of renewable energies increased by a total of 1.1 % to 2,103 PJ (71.8 Mtce) in 2024. This development is due in particular to an increase in electricity production from hydropower and photovoltaics (PV), while wind power generation declined by around 2 % due to weather conditions. Overall, the contribution of renewable energies to electricity generation rose by 2 %. Due to the warmer weather, however, the use of renewable energies in heat generation fell by around 1 %.

In 2024, mineral oil (36.5 %) and natural gas (25.9 %) continued to dominate the national energy mix. With a share of 20 %, renewables consolidated their third position. Hard coal and lignite now account for just over 7 % of domestic energy consumption. Germany has been a net importer of electricity since March 2024. Net electricity trade with neighbouring countries covers just under 1 % of domestic energy consumption. Other energy sources, primarily non-biogenic waste, account for just under 2 % of energy consumption. Nuclear energy has not contributed to Germany’s energy supply since April 2023.

The calculations recently presented by the Federal Environment Agency on the development of national greenhouse gas emissions, including CO₂ emissions, are based on the 2024 estimate compiled by the AG Energiebilanzen. According to this, CO₂ emissions in Germany will fall by 21 Mt in 2024.

The estimated balance sheet now presented by the AG Energiebilanzen includes the latest figures on the production, import and consumption of fossil and renewable primary energies as well as final energy consumption by sector and area of application. (AG Energie­bilanzen/Si.)

Energy consumption in Germany reached a level of 11,769 PJ or 401.6 Mtce in 2022. This corresponds to a decrease of 5.4 % compared to the previous year. Energy consumption thus fell to its lowest level since reunification, writes Arbeitsgemeinschaft Energiebilanzen (AG Energie­bilanzen), Berlin/Germany, in its Annual Report 2022 (Figure 1). The development of energy consumption and the use of the various energy sources (Figure 2) in the reporting year were significantly influenced by the war in Ukraine. The halt in Russian gas imports, the rise in energy prices, measures to combat an impending energy crisis and gas shortages had a drastic impact on the supply and consumption of energy sources in Germany, the AG Energiebilanzen continued.

The milder weather compared to 2021 also had a significant influence on the decline in primary energy consumption (PEC). Without the consumption-reducing temperature influence, energy consumption would have fallen by only 4 % compared to the previous year, according to calculations by AG Energiebilanzen. Apart from the months of September and December, it was consistently warmer in 2022 than in the previous year. It was also significantly warmer compared to the long-term average (1990 to 2021). Only in May and September were the outdoor temperatures below the long-term average. The mild temperatures contributed significantly to the fact that a critical escalation on the energy market could be avoided.

Factors increasing consumption in 2022 included economic development and population growth. The overall economic performance increased by 1.9 %. The economic slowdown was thus noticeably less than expected and there was an increase in consumption in the order of 135 PJ compared to the previous year. An increase in energy consumption of about 94 PJ resulted from the increase in population by about one million people.

According to the assessment of the AG Energiebilanzen, the price development on the energy markets last year caused a noticeable reduction in consumption. The import prices for crude oil, natural gas and hard coal rose by an annual average of 58 to 179 %. Consumer prices rose by 87 % for heating oil, 65 % for natural gas and more than 20 % for electricity.

The energy and climate policy framework conditions again had a not inconsiderable influence on the development of consumption for the individual energy sources in 2022. At the national level, further steps towards a complete phase-out of nuclear energy, the beginning of the coal phase-out and the continued promotion of renewable energies led to changes in the energy mix. At the European level, the emission ceilings of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) as well as the overarching climate protection goals have an impact on the level and composition of energy consumption in Germany.

According to calculations by AG Energiebilanzen, overall economic energy productivity improved by around 7.7 % in 2022. This value is significantly above the level of the long-term average for the period from 1990 to 2022 of around 2.3  %/a. According to AG Energiebilanzen, the drastic increase in energy prices in particular has led to additional energy savings and substitutions for many consumers. However, growth losses in the commercial economy, especially in energy-intensive sectors, as well as statistical effects in the primary energy assessment of renewable energies also had an influence on the development of energy efficiency.

On the basis of preliminary energy balance data, the AG Energiebilanzen assumes that energy-related CO₂ emissions decreased by around 1.3 % last year. This would correspond to a decrease of around 8.2 Mt.

In the area of electricity and heat generation, CO₂ emissions probably increased by around 4.8 % or 9 Mt. Decreases in electricity generation from nuclear power and natural gas were offset by increased use of hard coal and lignite, which led to an increase in CO₂ intensity in this sector. The increased provision of electricity from renewable energy sources could not offset this effect. In the transport sector, increased fuel consumption also caused an increase in CO₂ emissions. Here, the increase was 7.7 % or more than 11 Mt. In the manufacturing industry, however, emissions were reduced by about 10Mt. CO₂ emissions from private households fell by around 4.5 Mt, mainly due to the temperature effect and consumers’ efforts to save. This corresponds to a reduction of 5.3 % compared to the previous year.

The consumption of mineral oil increased by a total of 2.9 % to 4,156 PJ (141.8 Mtce) in 2022. The share of mineral oil in total PEC increased to 35.3 % (previous year 32.5 %). The consumption of petrol increased by 3.8 %, diesel fuel only showed a slight increase of 0.5 %. Sales of light heating oil increased by more than 9 %, as many consumers stocked up despite the price development. Sales of aviation fuel again rose strongly by almost 44 %. Deliveries of raw petrol to the chemical industry, on the other hand, decreased by around 4 %.

Natural gas consumption decreased by 15.7 % to 2,783 PJ (95.0 Mtce) in 2022. The share of natural gas in total PEC fell to 23.6 % (previous year: 26.6 %). Thus, the European goal of reducing natural gas consumption by 15 % to compensate for the import ban on Russian natural gas was fully met by Germany. Demand for natural gas from industry fell by 17.3 %. Consumption by private households fell by 13.5 %. The power and heating plants reduced their use of natural gas by 16.7 %, and there was a drop of 17.3 % in the provision of heat.

To secure the natural gas supply, the underground storage facilities connected to the German natural gas grid were filled as a matter of priority after the lowest filling level of just under 25 % was reached in mid-March 2022. Due to low temperatures, the withdrawal phase began in the first half of December. At the end of the year, the filling level of the natural gas storage facilities in Germany was still just over 90 %. On 21st December 2022, natural gas was fed into the domestic gas grid for the first time via the LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven.

The consumption of hard coal increased by 4 % in 2022 and reached a level of 1,156 PJ (39.4 Mtce). The use of hard coal in power plants, which accounts for about half of total consumption, increased by more than 16 %. The use of hard coal in the iron and steel industry, on the other hand, declined slightly by 2.2 %. The share of hard coal in total PEC increased from 8.9 % to 9.8 %. The increased use of hard coal in electricity generation helped to compensate for the reduced use of natural gas in power plants and benefited from the further decline in nuclear energy.

The consumption of lignite increased by 3.5 % to 1,174 PJ (40.1 Mtce). Compared to the average of the past five years, however, lignite continued to follow the downward trend. Almost 90 % of domestic lignite production went to general supply power plants. Electricity generation from lignite rose from 110 to 116 TWh, covering about one fifth of domestic electricity demand. Lignite had a share of 10.0 % of total PEC in 2022 (previous year: 9.1 %).

Nuclear energy almost halved its electricity production to 34.7 bn kWh in the reporting period. The contribution of nuclear energy to PEC fell to 379 PJ (12.9 Mtce). This development was caused by the decommissioning of the power plant units Grohnde, Brokdorf and Gundremmingen with a combined capacity of 4,058 MW. The installed capacity of nuclear power plants in Germany thus decreased to 4,055 MW. Amendments to the Atomic Energy Act opened up the possibility of operating the remaining three power plant units (Neckarwestheim 2, Isar 2 and Emsland) for three and a half months longer than originally planned. In 2022, nuclear energy had a share of 3.2 % (previous year 6.1 %) of total energy consumption.

Renewables increased their contribution to PEC in 2022 by 3.8 % to 2,023 PJ (69.0 Mtce). The share of renewables in total PEC reached 17.2 % in 2022 (previous year 15.7 %). The favourable weather conditions for wind power generation and the historic peak in solar irradiation had a significant influence on this development. Compared to the low wind year 2021, wind power generation increased by 8.5 % in 2022. Wind power thus remained the most important energy source in the German electricity mix in 2022. Electricity generation from photovoltaic plants covered more than 11 % of gross electricity consumption in Germany for the first time in 2022. In contrast, electricity generation from biomass remained almost constant in 2022. Due to the widespread drought, electricity generation from hydropower decreased by 11 %.

There were noticeable shifts in the energy mix for 2022. Mineral oil remained the most important energy source with a share of 35.3 % (previous year 32.5 %), followed by natural gas with 23.6 % (previous year 26.6 %). Hard coal accounted for a share of 9.8 % (previous year 8.9 %). Lignite increased its share to 10.0 % (previous year 9.1 %). The contribution of nuclear energy was 3.2 % (previous year 6.1 %). Renewable energies expanded their share of total energy consumption to 17.2 % (previous year 15.7 %).

Domestic energy production (Figure 3) recorded an increase of about 2.2 % to 3,647 PJ (124.4 Mtce) in 2022.

The extraction of natural gas and crude oil declined again. In contrast, renewables, which are included in the domestic energy sources, recorded an increase of 3.8 %. Lignite also increased by a similar amount. Hard coal has no longer been produced in Germany since the end of 2018. Overall, energy production from domestic resources was able to cover 31 % of total consumption. In the previous year, the share was 28.7 %. The most important domestic energy source is now renewables with a share of 55.6 % (previous year 54.7 %). It is followed by lignite with 32.7 % (previous year 32.3 %).

The detailed report of the AG Ener­gie­bilanzen on the development of PEC in 2022 is available for download on the website of the AG Energiebilanzen (www.ag-energiebilanzen.de).
(AG Energiebilanzen/Si.)

Germany’s energy consumption in 2018 fell to its lowest level since the early 1970s. With a total volume of 12,963 PJ or 442.3 Mtce, consumption was 3.5 % below the previous year’s level (Figure 1). As outlined by Arbeitsgemeinschaft Energiebilanzen (AG Energiebilanzen – Working Group on Energy Balances), Berlin/Germany, in its 2018 Annual Report published at the end of March, this development is due to significantly higher energy prices, the mild weather and a big increase in energy productivity. In contrast, the consumption-enhancing factors of economic development and population growth receded into the background. According to calculations by AG Energiebilanzen, energy consumption would have decreased by 2.4 % without the consumption-reducing impact of the mild weather.

When it comes to the development of consumption last year, one of the surprises was the sharp increase in macroeconomic energy productivity by 5.2 % (temperature-adjusted: + 4.0 %). This parameter for the efficient use of energy is calculated from the energy input per unit of economic performance. The long-term average value of this parameter is approximately 2 %.

The development of consumption, but also structural changes in the energy mix resulted in energy-related CO₂ emissions in Germany decreasing by about 34 Mt in 2018. This is a decline of 4.8 % compared to the previous year. Even when taking the temperature effect into account, the reduction is still significant at almost 4 % or about 27 Mt.

In 2018, mineral oil consumption in Germany decreased by a total of 5.0 % to 4,443 PJ (151.6 Mtce). Except for aviation fuels, all mineral oil products recorded a decline. Consumption of diesel fuel went down by 3.1 %, petrol recorded a decrease of 1.4 %. At 16 %, the decline in the sales of light fuel oil was exceptionally sharp. However, there are indications that consumers used up their own stocks first in light of the high prices, and that the actual consumption was higher than the sales in the trade sector. When it comes to aviation fuels, an increase of 2.3 % was recorded for consumption.

Natural gas consumption peaked at 3,071 PJ (104.8 Mtce) in 2018 and was therefore 1.6 % below the previous year’s value. The primary reason for this decline was the reduced use of natural gas for heating purposes because it was about 7.5 % warmer than in 2017 and 12.3 % milder than the long-term average. Towards the end of the year, the cutback in production in the chemical industry resulted in a declining demand for natural gas. In addition, less natural gas was used for power generation in 2018.

There was a sharp decline in the consumption of hard coal once again. Compared to 2017, consumption decreased by 11.2 % to 1,301 PJ (44.4 Mtce). It thus attained the lowest level in German post-war history. The use of coal for the generation of power and heat went down by 16 % to about 26 Mt. In 2018, almost 59 % of the hard coal volume in Germany was used for the generation of power and heat. The downward trend reflects the expansion of the use of renewable energy sources in power generation, which is increasingly replacing the electricity obtained from hard coal and led to a number of power station units being decommissioned in 2018. The use of hard coal in the steel industry decreased slightly by just under 2 % to 17.3 Mt in 2018. Industrial hard coal mining was discontinued in Germany at the end of 2018. In the future, Germany will satisfy its demand for hard coal and coke entirely through imports.

Lignite consumption peaked at 1,465 PJ (50.0 Mtce), meaning that consumption decreased for the sixth time in a row. The decline was 2.9 % due to the decreasing use of lignite for power generation. By 2020, the use of lignite for power generation will decrease by a total of 13 % compared to 2015 on account of the transfer of power stations to standby mode for backup purposes.

Nuclear energy recorded a slight decline of 0.4 %. All told, nuclear energy still contributed a share of 829 PJ (28.3 Mtce) to the energy balance in 2018.

Renewable energy benefited from the installation of additional capacity – specifically in photovoltaics – as well as from the extreme weather conditions experienced at times. The contribution made by renewable energy to total energy consumption increased by 1.1 % to 1,809 PJ (61.7 Mtce). The number of sunshine hours reached a record level, so the total use of solar energy increased by 16.5 %. Wind energy also experienced a record year. It increased its share in the energy balance by 5.6 %. In contrast, the extremely low level of precipitation caused hydropower (without pumped-storage reservoirs) to drop by almost one fifth. Biomass, whose share in the contribution of renewable energy is currently 53.6 %, recorded a decrease of 2 %, which was primarily due to the milder weather. Geothermal energy remained at the previous year’s level.

Renewable energy was able to expand its share in the energy mix for 2018. Biomass, solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, geothermal energy, and the biogenic share of waste accounted for a total of 14.0 % of the entire domestic energy consumption. The most important energy source continued to be mineral oil with a share of 34.3 %, followed by natural gas with 23.7 %. Hard coal accounted for a share of 10.0 % and lignite for 11.3 %. The contribution of nuclear energy accounted for 6.4 %.

Domestic energy production recorded a 2.8 % decline to 3,891 PJ (132.8 Mtce) in 2018. While renewable energy sources increased their contribution to domestic energy production by almost 1 %, all other energy sources recorded a decline. With a decrease of almost 30 %, the decline in domestic hard coal production, which was completely discontinued by the end of 2018, was particularly high. Domestic natural gas production decreased by 12.6 % and mineral oil accounted for a decline of around 7 %. Domestic lignite production went down by 2.9 %. Overall, energy production from domestic resources was able to cover 30 % of total consumption. Today, the most important domestic energy source is renewable energy with a proportion of 46.3 % (previous year: 44.6 %). This is followed by lignite at 38.4 % (previous year: 38.5 %). The shares of other energy sources are in the low single-digit range.

Germany has to meet around 70 % of its demand for energy through imports. Russia has become the most important supplier by far. In 2018, 36.3 % of German crude oil imports came from Russia. Together with the other states of the former Soviet Union (CIS), the share is actually almost 53 %. When it comes to hard coal, supplies from Russia account for a share of about 40 %. Due to the considerable increase in energy prices, the import bill for coal, natural gas and oil went up by approximately one fifth to almost 68 bn € in 2018 when compared to the previous year.

The detailed report on the development of primary energy consumption in 2018 is available at the AG Energie-bilanzen website: www.ag-energiebilanzen.de. (AG Energiebilanzen)/Si.)

Energy consumption in Germany increased by 1.6 % in the first six months of this year compared with the same period the previous year. A total of 6,821 PJ or 232.6 mt of coal equivalent (SKE) were consumed in the first half of the year. The increase in consumption has been attributed to the cooler weather conditions at the beginning of the year, the 2016 leap day, continued economic growth and population increase. According to provisional calculations by the Working Group on Energy Balances (AG Energiebilanzen), the increase was attenuated by additional energy-efficient improvements. Increases in oil and natural gas consumption and in renewable energies were accompanied by a decline in coal, lignite and nuclear power consumption (Figure 1).

Mineral oil consumption increased by around 4 % in total in the first half of the year. Diesel fuel and petrol consumption were up by 8 % and just under 1 % respectively and consumption of aviation fuel rose by just under 4 %. Sales of light heating oil grew by 9 % compared with the first six months of the previous year.

Natural gas consumption increased by just under 7 %. This impressive rate of growth was caused mainly by the increased use in electricity production and the cooler weather conditions in January, March and April. Industrial consumption of natural gas was roughly the same as the previous year.

Consumption of coal in the first half of 2016 was just under 2 % lower than in the same period the previous year. Although its use in electricity production fell by roughly 3 % in favour of renewable energies, consumption in the steel industry remained virtually unchanged. Consumption of lignite fell by 1.6 % compared with the first six months of the previous year. Electricity produced from lignite abated by a similar magnitude as a result of reduced power station availability.

Nuclear energy saw a decline of around 15 %. Renewable energies’ contribution to overall energy consumption in the first half of 2016 rose by 2.8 %. Wind energy increased by 8 %, whereas solar energy registered a decline of 4 %. Biomass saw an increase of 2 %. (AGEB/Si)

Energy consumption in Germany reached 13,306 PJ or 454.0 mt SKE in 2015, constituting a solid 1 % increase on the previous year. The increase is due primarily to the somewhat colder weather in comparison with the previous year, which was very mild, and the associated increase in the demand for heating, states the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Energiebilanzen (Working Group on Energy Balances) in its report on the development of energy consumption in Germany. According to calculations by the AG Energiebilanzen, the positive economic trend and the growth in population also led to an increase in energy consumption; however, this was almost offset by gains in energy efficiency. If you were to discount the effect of the colder weather on increasing consumption, energy consumption would have decreased by 0.4 %, according to the AG Energiebilanzen. In terms of CO2 emissions, the AG Energiebilanzen predicts that there will be only a small weather-based increase in comparison with the previous year, as the increase in consumption related primarily to low-emission or emission-free energy sources and consumption of coal and lignite had fallen (Figure 1).

Consumption of mineral oil in 2015 remained virtually unchanged compared with the previous year, amounting to 4,511 PJ or 153.9 mt SKE. While consumption of diesel fuel increased significantly, principally due to higher demand from the transport and construction sectors, petrol consumption saw a slight decrease, as the number of cars with petrol engines fell. Sales of aviation fuel remained at the same level as last year. An increase in sales of light heating oil failed to materialise owing to consumers choosing to cover their additional needs primarily from their own stocks in spite of lower prices.

Consumption of natural gas rose by 5 % to 2,812 PJ or 95.9 mt SKE. The main reason for this was the colder weather in the first half of the year, in comparison with the previous year which was very mild, and the resultant increase in the use of natural gas for heating purposes. The reappearance of very mild weather in the fourth quarter, however, curbed this increase considerably. 2015 saw a slight decline in the use of coal to 1,691 PJ or 57.7 mt SKE. Roughly two thirds of the total amount of coal consumed in Germany is used to generate electricity. While overall electricity consumption increased and despite very low world market prices for coal, coal usage saw a slight decrease. Turnover generated by the iron and steel industries remained at the same level as last year.

The use of lignite in 2015 fell slightly in comparison with the previous year, going down to 1,567 PJ or 53.5 mt SKE. Around 90 % of lignite production was used in power stations to generate electricity and heat. Electricity generation from lignite also stayed at the same level as the year before, at around 155 TWh.
Nuclear energy saw a decline of about 6 %, which can be attributed to the decommissioning of the nuclear power station in Grafenrheinfeld halfway through 2015.

The contribution made by renewable energy sources rose by almost 10 % overall to 1,669 PJ or 56.9 mt SKE. While the amount of electricity produced from biomass grew by around 2 %, that generated by hydropower (without pumped storage) fell slightly. On-shore and off-shore wind power usage increased by more than 50 % over the previous year. Use of solar energy (photovoltaic and solar-thermal) rose by 7 %, while use of biofuels fell by 6 %. The export surplus for electricity showed a significant increase. Other energy sources – predominantly urban and industrial waste – ended the year on an increase of about 2 %.

In 2015, domestic power generation rose by 1.6 % to 4,131 PJ or 137.3 mt SKE. While the renewable energy sources continued to increase their contribution to domestic energy production, coal and natural gas production in Germany decreased. More than 80 % of domestic power generation is from renewable energy sources and lignite. Overall, domestic energy production covered 31 % of the total consumption in the past year. (AGEB/Si.)