Coal still biggest source of power in Germany: federation

Fossil fuels remain the primary source of electricity in Germany, which has pledged to sharply increase generation from renewables over the coming decades, industry data showed today.
Coal -- both lignite and stone coal -- accounted for 45.5 per cent of total electricity production of 629 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in Germany last year, up from 44 per cent a year earlier, the BDEW industry federation said in its annual report.
Natural gas accounted for 10.5 per cent of all electricity generated in 2013, down from 12.1 per cent in 2012.
And the share of nuclear power -- which Germany has pledged to phase out completely -- fell only slightly to 15.4 per cent from 15.8 per cent.

At the same time, the share of renewables, which include wind, solar, hydropower and biomass, increased to 23.4 per cent from 22.8 per cent, BDEW calculated.
Germany is hoping that renewables will meet 50 per cent of its total energy needs by 2030 and as much as 80 per cent by 2050.