Between 2010 and 2020, installed nuclear capacity in Germany declined from 20.5GW to 8.1GW, according to GlobalData, which estimates the country will reach 4.1GW by the end of this year. The leading data and analytics company notes that this progression sets Germany on track to completely phase out nuclear by 2022.

Rohit Ravetkar, Power Analyst at GlobalData says: “The German Government has made steady progress towards the elimination of nuclear power following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. Under the Energiewende policy, the country’s aim to fill its power generation void with renewable power includes a planned increase of solar PV capacity to 100GW by 2030. The expansion of solar PV systems has been the most successful in Germany, increasing at an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6% between 2010 and 2020.”

Germany has been at the forefront in the adoption of solar PV technology since 2000. The country launched the 100,000 rooftop PV program way back in 1999, providing a significant push to the solar PV technology.

Ravetkar continues: “Germany’s recent amendment to its Renewable Energies Act, outlining massive build up for solar energy throughout this decade, is expected to propel the country’s solar PV market in the coming years. Installed capacity is estimated to double during the 2020-2030 period.”

Ravetkar adds: “Wind and solar PV have made tremendous progress in Germany. Renewables are expected to play a major role in meeting the country’s power demand in the future, supported by a few conventional power plants. Old thermal plants are being transformed into energy storage facilities so that excess power generated from renewables can be supplied during peak demand. The country should focus more on new gas-based generation capacity, energy storage and modernization of grids to maintain energy security.”