Germany's power plants generated 5.4% less electricity in the first quarter, with output from all conventional sources falling, but coal- and gas-fired power plants recorded the biggest declines, German utility lobby group BDEW said Thursday.
Output from Germany's gas-fired power plants was 18.5 TWh, down 19.7% from the first quarter of 2013, it said.
Coal-fired power generation fell 17.4% to 30 TWh, it said.
Lignite-fired production declined 4.8% to 41 TWh, while nuclear plants generated 26 TWh, 4.6% less than in the first quarter 2013, the data shows.
The declines in conventional power plant production in the first quarter are in contrast to increased output from renewable sources, the utility lobby group said, adding that it plans to publish the conventional plant data on a quarterly basis from now on.
Overall and including renewables, power plant output was 164 TWh in the first quarter, down 5.4% from the same quarter last year.
Domestic power demand in the first quarter fell by 1% against the same period of 2013, mainly due to the milder winter, BDEW said in April, without providing further details.
Renewables contributed around 27% to total electricity demand in the first quarter, up from 23% during the same period last year, the utility lobby group BDEW said earlier this month.
According to BDEW's earlier estimates, renewable power generated 40.2 TWh of electricity between January and March, compared to 35.7 TWh a year ago.
Onshore wind power output rose by 17.4% to 17.4 TWh, while solar output jumped 83% from the first quarter last year to 6.1 TWh, it said in its latest update.
The BDEW is the German energy industry's federal lobby group with around 1,800 member companies, representing about 90% of Germany's power and gas market.
