Coal news and updates

Coal-powered electricity on rise in 2022 in Germany as it phases at nuclear

Coal was the main energy source in electricity production in Germany in 2022, as was the case in the preceding years. According to Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) provisional results one third (33.3 percent) of the electricity produced in Germany and fed into the grid was generated by coal-fired power plants

The 2022 result equates to a 8.4 percent increase in coal-generated electricity compared to the previous year.

Wind power was Germany’s second most important energy source. After experiencing a relatively windless 2021, its share increased by 9.4 percent to just under one quarter (24.1 percent) of electricity production (2021: 21.6 percent).

In total, 509 billion kilowatt hours of electricity were produced and fed into the grid in Germany in 2022. This was a decrease of 1.9 percent compared with 2021.

Germany took the decision a decade ago to move in the opposite direction of many other European nations by removing their dependence on nuclear power. The plan is for Germany's last nuclear power plants to go off the grid in April of this year, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the decision to phase out nuclear power. Only three nuclear power plants still have a licence to operate at full capacity.