Energy Consumption
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Fossil energy primary consumption
The coalition agreement mentions the goal of climate neutrality by 2045 in several places; in addition, the energy infrastructure is to be allowed to run only on non-fossil fuels beyond 2045. From goals, it can be deduced that the coalition is aiming to entirely end the consumption fossil energy sources by 2045. However, a precise time path is not specified for this target. According to data provided by AGEB, the consumption of mineral oil, lignite and hard coal has declined significantly in recent years. In contrast, the consumption of natural gas has hardly decreased, with significant annual fluctuations. In 2021, fossil primary energy consumption totaled 2660 TWh, with mineral oil still accounting for the largest share. In 2020, consumption was even lower, caused by the pandemic. Assuming a linear reduction path, fossil primary energy consumption would have to fall by just under 40 percent to below 1700 TWh by 2030. Consumption actually fell in 2022-2024 and is currently slightly below the indicative linear reduction path.
In addition to the annual data, AGEB also provides quarterly updated data on primary energy consumption for the current year. After a significant decline in 2024, fossil primary energy consumption in the first quarter of 2025 rose again significantly by almost eight percent compared to the first quarter of the previous year. Natural gas consumption increased particularly sharply by almost 12 percent. The consumption of hard coal and lignite also increased by around five and seven percent respectively. The reasons for this are likely to include cool weather and relatively low electricity generation from wind power in the first quarter of 2025.