Enlarge image A wind turbine near Hohenhameln, Germany (© picture alliance / dpa) From January to June 2012, for the first time more than one-quarter of Germany’s electricity was produced through renewable energies, according to initial calculations by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries.

In terms of absolute energy volumes, that represents a 20-percent increase over the same period last year (from 56.4 billion kilowatt hours in the first half of 2011 to 67.9 billion kilowatt hours this year). Power from solar energy (photovoltaics) even increased by nearly 50 percent and meanwhile supplies more than 5 percent of total power demand.

Wind energy supplies the most power among the renewable energies: nearly one-tenth of total electricity.

Germany is thus well on its way to achieving an important goal of its sustainable energy policy:  By 2020, the share of renewables in electricity production should climb to at least 35 percent.

Electricity consumption overall fell slightly relative to the same period last year. But further efforts are still necessary to achieve the goals of the federal government’s blueprint for a sustainable energy policy (20 percent less electricity consumption by 2020). Here, the key word is “energy efficiency.”