In Germany’s Hunsrück village of Schorbach, numerous photovoltaic systems are installed on house roofs, on Sept. 19, 2019. Thomas Frey / Picture Alliance via Getty Images Germany’s target for renewable energy sources to deliver 65% of its consumed electricity by 2030 seemed on track Wednesday, with 52% of electricity coming from renewables in 2020’s first quarter. Renewable energy advocates, however, warned the trend is imperiled by slowdowns in building new wind and solar plants. The federal BDEW energy and water federation and Baden-Württemberg state’s ZSW solar and hydro research center observed a 7% percent renewables jump from 44.4% in the same period last year, in comparison to fossil fuel consumption. Wind, especially offshore wind turbines, solar panels and other sources generated 77 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) compared to 67 kWh in the first quarter of 2019. Using the standard EU’s electricity consumption measurement, Germany’s total, also from conventional coal , gas and nuclear plants, amounted to 148 billion kWh. The 7% jump in renewables came despite conventional plant closures and pandemic impacts on industry, officials said, while also noting "special effects" such as record winds in February and plentiful sun in March that benefited turbines and voltaic panels. That trend […]
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