German Wind Declines & Coal Generation Jumps to One-Year High as Wind Plunges - 2025

Wind Energy / Economics

Farhat reported in early February 2025 that wind farms produced only a fraction of their record output and coal plants hit highest generation since late February 2024. Germany’s coal-fired power generation surged to the highest level in more than a year, as slumping wind speeds sap the country’s renewable energy output. Germany has also cut offshore-wind generation capacity at new sites because supply-line and capacity high-wire limitations.

Onshore wind turbines in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
Photographer: Liesa Johannssen/Bloomberg

The persistent windless weather that has sent European power prices soaring this winter led German coal plants to ramp up output to fill the gap, reaching about 8.1 gigawatts this Thursday, the most since February of last year.

The slow winds are highlighting how Europe’s ambitions to decarbonize its power system lack enough backup for periods of low renewable output. Germany in particular has struggled after it shut its last nuclear plant in 2023. Grid operators in the country have already warned coal plants might be needed for longer to keep the lights on. Meanwhile, German wind farms produced only about 5 gigawatts on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg models. That’s a fraction of a record above 53 gigawatts set in December 2023.

The use of more costly fossil fuels is pushing up energy costs. German intraday power prices surged close to €200 per megawatt-hour for the peak time on Thursday morning on Epex Spot SE. In most western European countries, switching to coal is becoming increasingly less frequent as they phase out capacity, but that’s not quite the case in Germany.

“Germany often uses both gas- and coal-fired power when there’s a low amount of wind output,” said Robert Pulleyn, equity analyst and commodity strategist at Morgan Stanley.