An ideal combination of sunny and stormy weather in different parts of Germany on July 25th allowed the country to meet 78% of its energy needs from wind, solar, and other renewable sources, a new national record.
The previous national record for renewable energy generated in a single day was set in May 2014, when 74% of Germany’s domestic energy needs were met by solar, wind, biomass, and hydro power.
Germany is aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% before the year 2050. It’s also trying to cut down on its reliance on nuclear power, which it trades with France.
A blog post from Germany’s Energiewende (energy transition) project explained what made the new record possible: A storm generated high winds in the north, where Germany’s wind turbines are installed; in the south, where its country’s solar panels are located, it was “a relatively sunny day.” Preliminary figures indicate that wind and solar generated a combined 40.65 gigawatts (GW) of power, 7.25 GW came from biomass and hydro power, and total domestic power demand that day was 61.1 GW.
Earlier this month, Denmark experienced similar fortuitous circumstances when its wind turbines harnessed 140% of its domestic energy needs in one day.