BERLIN, Oct 1 (Bernama-dpa) -- Renewable energy sources, mainly wind and solar, covered a record of almost 61 per cent of Germany's electricity consumption in the first three quarters of the year, according to industry data released on Thursday.
Overall, gross electricity generation from renewable sources rose by 8.7 per cent, according to the estimate, reaching 237.5 billion kilowatt hours.
Significantly higher electricity was generated from onshore and offshore wind sources as well as from photovoltaics, according to the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW),
However, less electricity was generated from hydropower due to lower rainfall. Production from biomass also declined slightly.
The German government has a goal of raising the share of renewable power to 80 per cent by 2030. To balance intermittent supply as coal is phased out, the government plans to subsidise the construction of new gas-fired power plants.
--BERNAMA-dpa