Solar power production reaches new high in Germany in July

Germany has seen a record solar power production of 6.17 TWh in July, according to German research institute, IWR, citing provisional figures from transmission system operators. The previous record had been set by Germany’s PV systems just two months earlier, when total solar power generation reached 5.93 TWH.

212 hours of sunshine would be the normal standard for the month July, but this year the sun radiated a remarkable 305 hours. July 2018 was, after 2006, the second-sunniest July on record. As the institute further reports, on July 2, solar reached its peak with 29.1 GW of capacity fed into the grid. This corresponds to the power of nearly 25 nuclear plants.

For wind power generation, the unusually stable and high-pressure weather conditions in July were not as favorable. According to IWR, wind power production actually dropped to 4.4 terawatt hours, 20% less than in July 2017.

Overall, the IWR estimates the generation of electricity from PV and wind turbines in Germany at 10.6 terawatt hours in July 2018. For the period from January to July, meanwhile, PV and wind power generation totaled 86.9 terawatt hours – 11% more than in the first seven months of the previous year.