July 2015 became a record month for the combined efforts of PV and wind energy. Both renewable sources managed to churn out more electricity than ever before as the statistics show.
According to the Fraunhofer ISE, 11.7TWh of renewable electricity was produced in July and this number surpasses the previous highs in January and March this year. The German Institute of the Renewable Energy Industry (IWR) calculated 10.9TWh for July, which also corresponds to an all time high according to the institute's data. For wind energy, July 2015 has been recorded as the best summer month ever whereas for solar energy, July 2013 remains the strongest month.
Bruno Burger from the Fraunhofer ISE furthermore highlights another record in this hit month of July. According to the website Energy Transition: The German Energiewende, PV installations for the first time in July 2015 managed to surpass the electricity produced by nuclear sources in Germany. PV power added up to 5.183TWh whilst nuclear power churned out 5.181TWh. Nuclear juggernauts and solar naysayers might reckon the gap small, but it is a victory for solar power nevertheless.
"Naturally it is a result of the high irradiation, plus the shut down of Grafenrheinfeld nuclear plant as well as the annual revisions at Grundremmingen-C, Isar II und Philippsburg-2," Burger explained.
The difference in the statistics is a result of the different data evaluation criteria. IWR bases its data on the production projection of the Energy Exchange Europe and the transmission system operators. Fraunhofer ISE factors in an adjustment coefficient into the data according to Burger. The exact correction factor for 2015 has not been made definite yet, hence one from the year before has been used.
Translated and edited by Shamsiah Ali-Oettinger
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.