Germany turns net electricity exporter as wind power boosts production

Germany was a net exporter of electricity in the first quarter of the year for the first time since late 2023, official data showed on Tuesday, with wind proving the single biggest source of generation.

Electricity imports fell by 15.5% over the first three months of the year, whilst exports rose by just over 20%. The net result was a surplus of 3.1 billion kilowatt-hours.

In total, 126.6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity were produced in Germany and fed into the grid in the first quarter. Over half (53.3%) of this came from renewable sources such as wind and solar. 

Whilst electricity generation from renewable sources rose by 14% to 67.5 billion kilowatt-hours, production from conventional energy sources fell by 2% compared with the same quarter last year to 59.1 billion kilowatt-hours.

The rise in electricity generation from renewable energy sources in the first quarter was primarily due to a sharp increase in wind power. 

Compared with the same quarter in 2025, electricity production from wind power rose by 29% to 42.8 billion kilowatt-hours, with its share growing to one-third of total generation. 

By contrast, electricity generation from photovoltaics fell by 7.4% compared with the same quarter last year to 10.3 billion kilowatt-hours.