Germany has already reached some impressive landmarks when it comes to the use of renewable energy. The country set a record on July 25th, when 78% of its consumed energy came from environmentally sound methods. Now, projections for the whole year estimate that a third of the nation’s electricity will come from solar, wind, and other sustainable sources, making the country quite a role model.
Hildegard Müller, chair of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) management board, has said, “Regardless of the exact ratio come the end of the year, it has been made clear once again that renewable energy continues to gain importance in the German electricity mix.” Yet, the exact ratio is pretty inspiring. This year, Germany is expected to produce 193 billion kilowatt hours (billion kWh) of electricity, which is one fifth more than was produced last year. The month of October this year has already surpassed last year with 47% more energy supplied from wind farms.
Related: Germany boosted its national wind power capacity by 20% in 2012
Not only does Germany get bragging rights, but the progress has brought them closer to goals in addressing climate change and reducing human impact on the rise in Earth’s temperatures. Frithjof Staiß, executive director of the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research, explains, “The rising share from renewable sources makes Germany less dependent on fossil fuels, thereby helping it to achieve its climate protection targets.” Plans moving forward include a more integrated system of producing power for the country by also focusing on more sustainable sources of energy for heating and transportation sectors. Kudos to Germany for being good examples of steady progress toward replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy.
Via Clean Technica
Images via Shutterstock (1,2)
