Energy Charts and Agora Energiewende both report a production of 10.3 TWh of solar energy last month. Of this, almost 9.5 TWh was supplied to the grid. In addition, there were more than 80 hours of negative electricity prices in July.
With the significant increase in photovoltaic solar energy in Germany, PV records are being reached faster. In July, installed PV systems produced a record total of 10.3 TWh, according to data from Agora Energiewende and Energy Charts from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.
According to the Agorameter analysis, PV systems generated 2 TWh or 24% more than in the same month last year. In total, PV was responsible for 27% of net electricity production – another new record. Furthermore, PV and wind energy together generated 45% in July, significantly more than conventional power plants combined, which accounted for 39%. Overall, renewable energy sources accounted for 61%.
However, Agora Energiewende also found for the first time that lignite power stations produced more electricity than in the same month last year. Previously, these figures had fallen for sixteen months in a row. One reason is the persistently low price of CO2. At €67 per tonne, this was 22% lower than in July 2023, making lignite power stations competitive with coal and gas. Overall, lignite power stations accounted for 15% of net electricity generation, just ahead of onshore wind power at 14%.
Bruno Burger, head of Energy Charts, writes on the X platform that of the 10.3 TWh of solar energy generated, almost 9.5 TW was returned to the electricity grid. The highest value of solar power generation was recorded last month on July 29. At lunch this was more than 48.5 GW – another new record. During this time, renewable energy sources accounted for approximately 99% of the load.
Rabot Charge has also evaluated the development of electricity prices. The average hourly price on the day-ahead market was 6.73 cents per kilowatt hour. It has been stable all year at a level between 6 and 8 cents per kilowatt hour. At the same time, the trend of many negative hours on the electricity exchange has continued. In July, electricity prices on the stock exchange were below 0 cents for a total of 81 hours. This is also a record in the recent past. According to Rabot Charge, there were no months in 2023 and 2024 with so many hours of negative electricity prices.
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