BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Climate-neutral electricity will cover more than half of Germany's electricity consumption for the first time in 2023. This is according to projections by the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), which are available to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. According to the figures, renewable energies accounted for just under 52 percent of gross electricity consumption in the year under review, 5 percentage points more than in the previous year. ZSW and BDEW assume that total gross electricity consumption in 2023 will be around 517.3 billion kilowatt hours.

Renewables accounted for particularly high shares in July (59%), May (57%) and October and November (55% each). In June, electricity generation from sunlight reached a new all-time record of 9.8 billion kilowatt hours. Onshore wind energy set a new annual record with 113.5 billion kilowatt hours. At 267.0 billion kilowatt hours, more climate-neutral electricity was generated than ever before.

"The figures show that we are on the right track," explained Kerstin Andreae, Chairwoman of the BDEW Executive Board. However, the path to a completely climate-neutral electricity supply is not a sure-fire success. "We can only achieve the second 50 percent if politicians continue to consistently remove all obstacles to the expansion of renewables."

The decision taken at the World Climate Conference in Dubai to move away from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas requires the expansion of renewable energies in completely new dimensions, emphasized ZSW Board Member Frithjof Staiß. Renewable electricity is also necessary for the extraction of carbon dioxide from the air with the help of so-called direct air capture plants. The CO2 obtained in this way, together with green hydrogen, could serve as a carbon source for the future demand for hydrocarbons./tob/DP/zb