In early May, Germany generated so much renewable energy, costs dropped to -€130 per MWh.
The soar in renewable energy came after a period of sunny weather and high winds. On 8 May 2016, 80% of power consumed in the country came from solar, hydro and wind.
Germany plan to reach 100% renewable by 2050.
Cedrec's take
Great news from Germany! We've heard several stories this year and last about countries running off renewables for a period of time, and targeting high levels of reliance on renewables. These countries tended to be smaller populations, however, meaning the UK could not hope to compete with such achievements any time soon, with a population of well over 60 million.
Yet Germany, with a population of 80 million, has proved it can be done.
Admittedly, the renewable industry is still not able to provide full power. The day of the 80% peak was a Sunday, where large consumers of energy would be offline, and furthermore, the good conditions for renewable are not always reliable.
However, with this to bolster confidence in renewable, we can only continue to support advancement in renewables.
