Germany's entire energy demand could be covered exclusively by renewable energies within the next 10 to 15 years. According to the calculations, not only the demand for electricity, but the entire demand for energy in Germany could be covered by renewables.
Fossil fuels or nuclear power would then no longer be used anywhere in Europe either. The prerequisite for this is that the rate of expansion in Germany is greatly increased, both for wind and solar energy. In the event of a full supply of renewables, the demand for electricity in Germany would rise sharply due to the trend towards electrification and would be over 1,000 terawatt hours instead of just over 500 terawatt hours (in 2018). However, total energy consumption would be less than half as high at just over 1,200 terawatt hours compared to just under 2,600 in 2018.
Two scenarios were calculated in the study, which include a renewable generation mix throughout Europe and take into account electricity, heat and transportation - known as sector coupling. The integrated scenario, which considers the expansion of generation and storage capacities in conjunction with the necessary grid expansion and strives for a balance between the two, is superior to the disintegrated scenario: In the former, energy is generated closer to the consumer, which reduces the need for battery storage and power lines, for example.
