Germany generated over 138.77 TWh of renewable energy, accounting for 61.8% of the country’s net public electricity generation in the first half (1H) of 2026, according to a report from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (Fraunhofer ISE). The share remained largely flat year-over-year.

Renewable energy met a record 58.5% of Germany’s electricity load during 1H 2026, compared with 55% in the same period last year.

Renewable Energy Generation

Germany’s solar generation reached a record 43.2 TWh in 1H, up 10% from 39.3 TWh a year earlier.

Wind power generation increased 12.2% year-over-year. Offshore wind generation rose to 14.6 TWh from 11.4 TWh in the same period of 2025, while onshore wind generation increased to 52.8 TWh from 48.7 TWh. Wind accounted for 28.8% to 30% of the total.

Hydropower generation fell to 7.8 TWh in 1H from 8.1 TWh a year earlier, its lowest level since 2015.

Biomass power generation declined to 17.9 TWh from 18.3 TWh last year.

Renewables accounted for 58.6% of the electricity fed into Germany’s grid in 2025, slightly below 59.5% in 2024, according to preliminary data released by the Federal Statistical Office.

Expanding Solar Capacity

Germany added 2.1 GW of new rooftop solar capacity in systems of up to 30 kW in the first half of 2026. Installations in the 30 kW to 100 kW segment added 1.1 GW, while ground-mounted solar projects led capacity additions with 3.5 GW.

Fraunhofer said Germany’s installed solar module capacity increased from 118 GWp to 124.9 GWp, while installed inverter capacity rose from 107.7 GW to 113.9 GW.

Fraunhofer said proposed amendments to Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Act could reduce the financial attractiveness of smaller rooftop solar systems, leading to smaller installations and underuse of available rooftop space.

In 2022, the European Commission approved an amendment to Germany’s Renewable Energy Act 2023, which sought to extend and modify the country’s support for renewable energy.

Storage Gap

Fraunhofer said high wind and solar generation increased the number of hours with negative day-ahead electricity prices in Germany in 1H. Prices also stayed near zero for several hours, prompting more power projects to curtail generation when market prices turned negative.

Storage capacity rose to 29.3 GWh from 25.4 GWh, with more large-scale battery storage commissioned in the first six months than in all of 2025. Fraunhofer said Germany continues to face a significant storage gap and needs intraday storage and grid flexibility to shift surplus power to low-generation hours and reduce price volatility.

Decline in Net Imports

Higher renewable energy generation helped reduce Germany’s net electricity imports to 1.3 TWh from 9.6 TWh a year earlier. Imports came mainly from Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Norway, while exports went primarily to Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Poland.