German gas imports drop 11% in 2024, more green power plants built
German gas imports fell by 11% in 2024 compared with the year before, with Norway the largest supplier, while exports more than halved, the country's network regulator said on Wednesday.
According to preliminary figures from the Bundesnetzagentur, German gas imports fell to 865 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2024 from 968 TWh in 2023.
Norway, with 48% of deliveries, was followed by the Netherlands at 25% and Belgium at 18%, it said.
Exports from Germany, meanwhile, dropped to 89 TWh in 2024 from 187 TWh the year before, with the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Austria among its most important customers.
In total, Germany used 844 TWh of gas last year, 3.5% more than in 2023, with 39% used by households and businesses and 61% by industry.
Germany, like other major European countries, scrambled to cut its dependence on Russian gas after Moscow's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with the resulting high prices stoking inflation and raising the cost of living across the region.
From late 2022, it started building floating terminals to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the global market to complement pipelines. Supply is currently comfortable.
Germany's vast gas storage caverns are currently well filled at 77% of capacity, the regulator noted, but added there had been continuous withdrawals since Nov. 4.
The heating season lasts to the end of March.
In a separate statement on renewable electricity capacity, which is also monitored by the regulator, the Bundesnetzagentur said the total stood at 190 gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2024, representing a 12% year-on-year rise.
Germany is speeding up approvals for power capacity to boost wind and solar supplies and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. More power can help support the electrification of carbon-heavy transport and heating, which still largely run on gas and oil.
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