Germany's 2009 energy consumption down 6.5%

BERLIN, GERMANY - Reports from Arbeitsgemeinschaft Energiebilanzen (AGEB), Germany's Working Group on Energy, indicate that the country's energy consumption in 2009 has dropped to 453.1 million tons of coal equivalent, which is about 6.5% lower than the year-on-year consumption figures of last year.

AGEB, which tracks industrial statistics in the country, has revealed that the overall consumption of energy recorded an all-time low since 1972, with the impact being felt across the oil, gas, coal and nuclear energy sectors.

While oil is still the primary source of energy in the country, accounting for 34.6% of the energy consumption, demand for oil variants recorded a total decline of 2 million tons. Consumption of aviation fuel fell 4%, petroleum usage dropped 5.8%, and the sales of light heating oil declined 14%. Diesel and gasoline sales fell about 50%, primarily because of the use of bio-fuels to adhere to emission standards.

According to AGEB, natural gas consumption saw a slight increase, mainly due to an increase in the household consumption during cold weather conditions. The energy source formed 21.7% of the consumption, about 5.5 % lower than the previous year.

Constituting about 11% of the consumption mix, hard coal usage fell 18%, mainly driven by a lack of demand in the steel-manufacturing sector, which saw 30% less coal consumption this year. Power plants consumed 13% less coal, while demand from the heating sector, too, was weaker than 2008.

Although the overall consumption share of brown coal (lignite) moved up to 11.4%, its usage is reported to have fallen 3%, a drop attributable to reduced supply for power ventures. Nuclear power, having a share of 11% in the country's consumption pattern, also fell nearly 10%.

Finally, the renewable energy sources accounting for 9% of the energy mix of Germany saw a decline due to erratic weather conditions, with wind energy output lower 8% and hydropower output falling 7%, while photovoltaics and biomass energy production did well enough to cover the shortfall.

Mandatory use of biofuels, coupled with the economic recession that mostly affected the power and manufacturing sectors, have influenced the energy consumption pattern for 2009. The energy mix in 2008 constituted renewables with 8.2%, nuclear with 11.4%, petroleum with 34.3%, lignite with 10.9%, coal with 12.7%, and natural gas with 21.6%. While the usage of lignite and renewable sources have risen slightly, nuclear and coal-based energy usage have seen a notable decline.

AGEB statistics further reveal that Germany is way ahead of its Kyoto Protocol emission target of 21%, with CO2 emissions in 2009 being reduced about 27% on the 1990 levels.