Bundesnetzagentur publishes 2023 electricity market data
Year of issue 2024
Date of issue 2024.01.03
The Bundesnetzagentur has today published its electricity market data for 2023. The figures are based on data taken from SMARD, the electricity market data platform of the Bundesnetzagentur.
Generation from renewables
In 2023, the share of the grid load* accounted for by electricity generated from renewable sources was 55.0% (2022: 48.42%).
Wind farms – especially those on land – made the largest contribution. Onshore and offshore turbines together comprised a share of 31.1%. Solar covered 12.1% and biomass 8.4%, with the remaining 3.4% coming from hydropower and other renewables.
At 251.2 TWh, overall generation from renewable energy sources was about 7.5% higher in 2023 than in the previous year, when it was 233.7 TWh. Onshore wind generation (118.7 TWh) was around 18.0% higher than the previous year (100.6 TWh). Generation from offshore wind turbines was down 4.9% year-on-year to 23.5 TWh from 24.7 TWh. At 55.2 TWh, solar generation remained at the previous year's level (55.3 TWh). The strong growth in solar capacity in 2023 compensated for the comparatively lower levels of sun following record levels in 2022.
Generation from conventional sources totalled 197.2 TWh, down 24.0% from 2022.
Overall, generation from hard coal was 36.8% lower and from lignite 24.8% lower in 2023 than in 2022.
Electricity produced from natural gas rose 31.3% year-on-year. There were several factors contributing to the continued use of natural gas to generate electricity despite the war in Ukraine and efforts to save gas. These factors are explained in the yearly article at www.smard.de (in German).
The grid load fell 5.3% overall in 2023 to 456.8 TWh (2022: 482.6 TWh). Electricity generation (net) fell 9.1% to 448.5 TWh (2022: 493.2 TWh).
Wholesale electricity prices
The average day-ahead wholesale price for electricity in 2023 was €95.18/MWh (2022: €235.45/MWh). This was less than half the previous year's average and back to the level in 2021.
The day-ahead wholesale electricity price in Germany was negative in 301 of the 8,760 hours of trading (2022: 69 hours). The trend across the year as a whole was towards lower wholesale electricity prices. A chart showing this trend is available in the yearly article at www.smard.de (in German).
Cross-border electricity trade
In commercial foreign trade, Germany imported a total of 54.1 TWh (2022: 33.2 TWh) and exported 42.4 TWh (2022: 56.3 TWh). Imports were about 63.0% up and exports 24.7% down compared with 2022.
There is an interaction between supply and demand across the whole of Europe. Electricity is produced within Europe wherever it is cheapest. Germany and the other European countries can all benefit from the most favourable conditions for generation in each case. The wholesale electricity prices and trading are the result of this interplay. As a result, there may be times when it makes sense to import or export electricity for economic, rather than supply-related, reasons. Network capacity and stability also play a role in trading flows. The European internal market for electricity thus contributes to lower electricity prices and lower carbon emissions.
More key figures and explanations about the electricity market in 2023 are available on the Bundesnetzagentur's electricity market data platform at www.smard.de.
* The grid load share of electricity that was generated from renewables is calculated differently from the federal government's target definitions for the expansion of renewable energy (Renewable Energy Sources Act – EEG), which are measured by gross electricity consumption. The grid load does not include power stations' own consumption or industrial networks, so the calculation basis applied here – compared with the share of gross electricity consumption – typically results in a higher proportion of generation from renewables. The grid load is calculated by taking the net electricity generation, subtracting transmission capacity exports, adding transmission capacity imports and subtracting the pumping work at pumped storage power stations.