Some ‘Transition’: German Wind Power Output Plummets 20%: Coal-Fired Power Generation Jumps 38%

 

Germany’s 30,000 wind turbines continue to disappoint those who reckon ‘coal is dead’.  In the first half of 2021, wind power output plummeted by more than 20%, whereas Germany’s coal-fired power generators increased output by a whopping 38% over the same period.

So much for Germany’s ‘inevitable transition’ to an all wind and sun powered future – aka the ‘Energiewende’.

It’s almost like there’s some kind of conspiracy at work, with an outbreak of dead calm and cloudy weather all across Germany.

Pierre Gosselin reports on the latest lament from Germany’s wind and solar worshippers.

German Wind Power Production Plummets 20% In First Half 2021… Coal Power Consumption Jumps 38%!
No Tricks Zone
Pierre Gosselin
27 July 2021

What would we do without coal?

The first half of 2021 saw a massive 20% drop in wind power production in Germany … while “coal power saw a renaissance.”

In the latest climate video, Die kalte Sonne cites a variety of electric utility companies and electric power trade associations concerning electric power production in Germany for the first half of 2021.

Here we find a number of surprises.

Wind power production tumbles 20%
The share of renewable energies in gross electric power consumption in the first half of 2021 fell from 50% to 43% compared to a year earlier,” Die kalte Sonne reports. “The production of onshore and offshore wind energy decreased by 20%.”

Unfavorable weather conditions
The reason for the steep drop, according to the findings, was due to unfavorable weather conditions. “This year, especially in the first quarter, the wind was particularly still and the sun output was low.”

Solar energy output on the other hand rose a modest 2%.

Coal picked up the slack
So where did all the missing electric power come from?

According to Die kalte Sonne:

Coal energy saw a renaissance. Brown coal [lignite] power plants produced 45.8 terawatt-hours of the net power – that is the power mix that comes out of the outlet. That’s a strong increase of 37.6% compared to 2020, when only 33.6 terawatt-hours were produced.

The net production by black coal power plants also increased, by 38.9% to 20.4 terawatt-hours after 14.4 terawatt-hours in 2020.”

In total, that means total coal power rose from 48 terawatt-hours to 66.2 terawatt-hours, a whopping 38% increase!
No Tricks Zone