Renewable energies
Source: Working Group on Energy Balances April 2021 and AGEE-Stat. February 2021. For detailed source information see final note viii.
The proportion in the electricity sector is especially high. 42.0% of gross electricity consumption is cov- ered by renewable sources (242,434 GWh). The Federal Government has set itself the goal of increasing the share of electricity produced by renewable energy at 65% in 2030 and to almost completely decarbonise the energy supply by 2050 and thus to reduce green- house gas emissions. In 2019 around 82.8% of green- house gas emissions (670.2 Mt CO2 equivalents) could be attributed to the combustion of fossil energies.
Fossil-fuelled power plants are currently needed (in addition to renewable energies) to meet energy requirements in Germany. The technologies of renewable energy plants require steel, cement or petrochemical raw materials as the following example shows: The components of a wind turbine consist of roughly 45 % crude oil and petrochemical industry products. One wind turbine blade can be 30 to 50 metres long in large wind turbines and it contains up to 12 t of petrochemical products.
Some of the metals required for the energy transition (e.g. indium, germanium and gallium) are additional natural resources, i.e. they are obtained as by-products during the extraction of a different metal. In the case of these metals, the regulatory mechanisms for the supply of natural resources only function to a limited extent. In Germany and Europe, potential deposits like this do exist, with the result that import depend- encies could be reduced through the targeted devel- opment of these deposits, corresponding investments and the extraction of their natural resources.
In 2019, investments in renewable energies amounted to EUR10.7 billion, while the operation of the existing plants generated EUR17.2 billion in sales. The expan- sion of renewable energies can create a large number of new jobs due to the increasing demand for elec- tricity and heat and the goods and services produced with renewable energy. In 2019, the renewable energy sector overall produced employment for more than 299,700 people. Here the focus was on renewable energy in electricity generation. The expansion of renewable energies is financed by feed-in tariffs which are higher than the stock exchange electricity price. The difference in costs between the stock exchange electricity price and remuneration for the electricity from renewable energy plants (EEG) are paid for by electricity consumers as part of the price they pay for electricity via the EEG levy. In 2020, the EEG levy amounted to 6.756 ct/kWh for consumers who are not exempt in part or even in full from the levy, such as some major industrial consumers. Since 2021 the EEG levy is reduced by a subsidy from the Federal Government. In addition to revenue from the new national CO2 pricing for heating and motor fuels for transport and heating, a further EUR11 billion was given to the EEG levy from the economic stimulus package. As a result, a sharp increase in the EEG levy following the corona pandemic was avoided. The levy will receive increasing income from the CO2 pricing and possible remaining funds from the economic stimulus package and the intention is to reduce the levy further in the future. This will give relief to elec- tricity users and at the same time provide incentives for an energy transition across sectors. If renewable energies are to expand further, industrial energy pro- jects must be suitably combined with the development of the renewable energies. This also applies to the German natural resources industry, which has already established a series of wind, biomass, geothermal, solar and hydroelectric power projects in Germany.
Renewable energy sources are used in electricity and heat generation and in the transport sector. The most important renewable energy source in the electricity sector is wind power: In 2019, more than half (51.9%) of electricity was generated from wind energy. Wind energy plays a vital role in the expansion of renewable energies, an expansion which will ultimately result in an economically-viable and climate-friendly energy supply at reasonable prices and with a high level of general prosperity. In 2019, the use of wind energy accounted for 21.7% of German electricity consump- tion. Wind turbines have been built on various closed mine sites, mainly on now-green colliery slag heaps on which favourable wind conditions exist. In addition to the further development of suitable land sites and the replacement of older, smaller wind turbines by modern and more powerful models – so-called ‘repowering’ – the expansion of wind energy at sea is also becoming increasingly important. During the period 2017 to 2019 alone, wind energy turbines were installed with a capacity of around 8,000 MW on land and roughly 3,300 MW at sea. Wind turbines with a total capacity of around 60,721 MW were operating in Germany in 2019; they produced around 126,000 GWh of electricity in 2019, one fifth of which was generated by wind turbines at sea. The Federal Government is planning to have an offshore wind power of 20,000 MW on the grid by the year 2030 and between 67,000– 71,000 MW of wind energy on land. In view of this expansion and the ever-larger power units (more than 10 MW per offshore wind turbine), the need for min- eral natural resources will also increase. Concrete, for example, is required for the construction of wind turbine foundations. This also means a correspond- ingly higher demand for limestone for cement production and for aggregates such as gravel and sand.
Biomass has become a very relevant energy source for electricity generation. Bioenergy for producing elec- tricity is supposed to remain at the current level in view of the competition to use the land to grow food and fodder or generate energy. The total capacity of biomass electricity generation plants is around 9,988 MW, electricity generation in 2019 amounted to more than 50,200 GWh (8.8% of the total electricity consumption, 20.7% of the renewable electricity generation). In addition to biogas (including biometh- ane and landfill and sewage gas), solid and liquid bio- masses and biogenic waste are also used to generate electricity, but biogas is the most important single biogenic energy source for electricity generation with 57% (2019) of the entire biomass.
Another renewable energy source with great potential is solar electricity generation. More than 1.9 million photovoltaic plants convert the sun’s radiation energy directly into electricity – these plants represented a total of around 49,000 MW of installed capacity in Germany at the end of 2019, and around 3,800 MW of power were added in the same year. Electricity gener- ation from photovoltaics continues to rise steadily as a result, attaining approximately 46,400 GWh in 2019. Photovoltaics thus accounted for 8.0% of total electricity consumption and contributed 19.1% of renewable electricity. German mining companies are also increasingly opting for the use of photovoltaic systems at various mining sites in Germany.
In addition to wind, biomass and photovoltaics, hydropower also contributed to electricity generation with around 19,700 GWh in 2019.
In the transport sector, biomass can reduce CO2 emissions, especially in the form of biofuels such as bioethanol, biodiesel and biogas for cars, trucks, trains, ships and aircraft. Electric vehicles are another option for reducing CO2 emissions. In 2019, renewable energies accounted for 5.6% of fuel consumption in Germany.
Thanks to its flexible use in the electricity, heating and transport sectors, biomass is the most important renewable energy source. In 2019, 52% of total final energy from renewable energy sources was provided by the various types of biomass used for energy purposes.
The expansion and use of renewable energies helps to avoid greenhouse gas emissions and reduces the use of fossil energy sources. The savings also reduce the proportion of imports of mineral oil, natural gas and hard coal required. Despite the expansion of re- newable energies, conventional power plants are still needed to meet energy requirements.
Study of the demand for natural resources in the field of renewable energies
However, the study did not deal with the extent to which the future demand for base and technology metals for renewable energy plants can be met by the mining of natural resources in Germany. Information on the deposits, extraction and requirement for these natural resources in Germany can be found in the reports of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) and The German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA):
The following sections are taken from the summary of the study. The MSG is neither responsible for the con- tent of the study nor for the contents reproduced here and does not adopt them as its own.
Classification of the renewable energies in Germany’s energy supply and presentation of the natural resources requirements for EE plants
In the case of construction raw materials, raw materials for concrete production play a significant role. In 2018, the demand for concrete used for newly installed wind turbines amounted to 1.8 million tonnes. The average annual demand is expected to remain constant at around this level in the future. However, the demand for construction raw materials caused by the energy transition is rather low compared to the demand in residential and road construction (Germany had a demand for ready-mix concrete of around 115 million tonnes in 2018).
Important base metals for the energy transition are steel and aluminium as well as copper and nickel. Steel is used in many plants as a building material. The demand for steel caused by the energy transition is of secondary importance compared to the overall demand for steel in Germany. Aluminium is widely used in wind turbines and car components. The expansion of electromobility is expected to result in an additional annual demand for aluminium of around 162,000 tonnes in 2030. In addition to wind power and photovoltaic (PV) systems, copper is also used in electric mobility. Copper is likely to experience significant demand impulses as a result of the energy transition. While the copper demand for wind power and PV plants was 11,200 tonnes in 2013, the annual cop- per demand will increase by an additional 73,500 tonnes for batteries, electric motors and power electronics by 2030. The demand for nickel for electromobility is estimated to be around 1,050 tonnes in 2016.
A ramp-up to around 1 million newly registered electric vehicles in 2030 would result in a nickel require- ment of around 56,000 tonnes.
In connection with the energy transition, the technol- ogy metals gallium, indium, selenium and silicon are of relevance due to their use in PV modules. The same applies to cobalt and lithium due to their use in lithium- ion batteries and to neodymium and dysprosium due to their use in wind turbines and electric motors. The future annual demand for technology metals for the production of PV modules will remain more or less constant. The annual demand for cobalt and lithium is rising significantly due to increasing battery sales. The same applies to the demand for the rare earth metals neodymium and dysprosium. This is in particular due to the increase in electromobility and to a lesser share due to the construction of wind turbines. Table 1 provides an overview of the future demand for tech- nology metals for key technologies of the energy transition.
The primary extraction of some of the raw materials required, e.g. cobalt, can be associated with high human rights, social and ecological risks, especially in countries with weak governance structures. In artisanal mining, child labour and a lack of social and safety standards can go hand in hand, which can also lead to health problems for the local population. Environmental pollution from the extraction of primary raw materials is also caused, for example, by deforestation (e.g. bauxite extraction), water evaporation (e.g. lithium extraction from salt lakes) and dam fractures (risk at mining sites).
Table I: Demand for technology metals for key technologies of the energy transition according to scenario B 2030
Technology metals | Technologies considered | Cumulated demand, 2018 – 2030 in tonnes | Calculated average, in tonnes per year |
Gallium (Ga) | Thin-film PV | 12 | 0.92 |
Indium (In) | Thin-film PV, thick-film PV | 165 | 13 |
Cobalt (Co) | Lithium-ion batteries (e-mobility and stationary storage) | 74,000 | 5,700 |
Lithium (Li) | Lithium-ion batteries (e-mobility and stationary storage) | 50,000 | 3,800 |
Neodymium (Nd) | Permanent magnet generators for wind turbines, electric engines for HEV, PHEV, BEV, Pedelecs | 3750 | 290 |
Dysprosium (Dy) | Permanent magnet generators for wind turbines, electric engines for HEV, PHEV, BEV, Pedelecs | 660 | 50 |
Selenium (Se) | Thin-film PV | 64 | 5 |
Silicon (Si) | Thick-film PV (Thin-film PV) | 132,000 | 10,150 |
Socio-economic significance of renewable energies
A declared goal of the Federal Government is to increase the share of gross electricity consumption from renewable energy sources to 65%. Currently, the share of renewable energies in gross electricity con- sumption is approx. 38%. In order to achieve the tar- geted share, the installed capacity must be increased accordingly from 2018 to 2030. These expansion tar- gets face numerous challenges in the development of renewable resources. Challenges exist with regard to the designation of suitable areas and securing social acceptance.
The report then illustrates the socio-economic significance of renewable energies based on a regional analysis. The following three German regions will be presented: A North German wind region (consisting of the Federal States of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony) with a focus on wind energy, a Central German region (Hesse, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia) with bioenergy use, and a South-East German solar region (Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria and Brandenburg), where solar energy plays a major role.
In 2017, 16,700 companies and almost 100,000 employees were active in the field of renewable energies in the South-East German solar region. The gross value added in 2018 was about EUR 11 billion. In the field of solar energy, around 5,500 companies with around 20,100 employees were active in 2018, which corresponds to less than half of the 2010 active work- force in the sector. The reasons for the decline in employment and value added include the relocation of plant production abroad and a decline in the installation of new plants compared with the high installation figures during the years 2010 to 2012.
The expansion of renewable energies also faces challenges. These include issues of volatility and security of supply as well as social acceptance of generation capacity expansion. While the majority are generally in favour of expansion, this support varies depending on the type of technology and appears to be decreasing depending on the degree of direct impact. Questions of nature and species conservation as well as noise and odour emissions also lead to acceptance problems.”
1 Source of the figures stated in section 7.2: BMWi (2018) (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy): Renewable energies in figures, national and international development in 2018. https://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/EE/Redaktion/DE/Downloads/Berichte/erneuerbare-energien-in-zahl-
2 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2020): BGR energy study URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Themen/Energie/Down- loads/energiestudie_2019.pdf? blob=publicationFile&v=6 (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
3 Bundesverband Geothermie V. (Federal Association of Geothermal power) (2020): Status of research and need for research in geothermal power: URL: https://www.geothermie.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Forschung_Papier_2020_A4_20201217_Final_interaktiv.pdf (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
4 On 3 September 2020 the European Commission published a study that posed similar questions and looked at the requirement for critical natural resources for the European Union as a whole. Among other issues this also looks at the status of the renewable energy sector. See here: https://ec.eu- eu/docsroom/documents/42881
1 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2019): Germany – Natural Resources Situation (Deutschland – Rohstoffsituation 2019) URL: https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Themen/Min_rohstoffe/Downloads/rohsit-2018.html?nn=1542132 (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
6 Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (2017): Domestic mineral resources – indispensable for Germany! URL: https://www.bgr.bund. de/DE/Themen/Min_rohstoffe/Downloads/studie_mineralische_rohstoffe_2017.pdf? -blob=publicationFile&v= (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
7 The German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA) ( 2021): DERA Rohstoffinformation (Mineral Resources Information) URL: https://www.deutsche-ro- hstoffagentur.de/DE/Gemeinsames/Produkte/Downloads/DERA_Rohstoffinformationen/rohstoffinformationen-50.pdf? blob=publicationFile&v=3, (Accessed on 10 December 2021).
8 https://www.bgr.bund.de/DE/Themen/Min_rohstoffe/Downloads/rohsit-2018.html?nn=1542132
