MANY MINDEDGermany's grid crossed a line: wind and solar beat fossil fuels in 2025
In 2025, wind and solar together supplied 225 terawatt hours, or 44% of Germany's electricity, edging past fossil fuels at 217 terawatt hours, or 43%. It is the first time renewables have outpaced fossil generation in the grid of a major industrial economy, and the EU as a whole reached the same milestone in 2025, according to analysis based on Energy Institute data.
The crossover sits inside a longer plan. Germany aims for renewables to reach 80% of electricity consumption by 2030, a largely climate-neutral power system by 2035, and net-zero economy-wide emissions by 2045. Onshore wind is the near-term engine: the country approved a record 20.8 GW of new capacity in 2025 on the way to a 115 GW target by 2030. Bioenergy added roughly a tenth of power last year.
Why it moves abundance: when the cheapest sources — wind and solar have no fuel cost — carry the larger share of a heavy-industry grid, it shows clean power can meet real demand at scale, not just in favorable small markets. That is the condition under which electricity gets structurally cheaper over time.
Caveats matter here. The renewables share includes hydropower and bioenergy alongside wind and solar. The coal phaseout deadline is 2038, though experts think it could come earlier, with a timeline review due in August. Chancellor Merz called the nuclear phaseout a strategic mistake, but the government ruled out returning to conventional nuclear.
Source: Carbon Brief