Germany has announced that it’s managed to hit an ambitious target for power generation producing 25 percent of the country’s energy from renewables, up from 21 percent in 2011. The country produced 67.9 billion kilowatt hours of clean energy in the first half of 2012 -an increase of 19.5 percent from the same period the year before. Wind energy is the largest contributor, accounting for 9.2 percent of energy output, and biomass accounted for 5.7 percent. Solar power comprised 5.3 percent of the total, and also saw the biggest increase — rising 47 percent. That makes Germany the biggest market globally for solar power, with its installed capacity accounting for more than a third of the total capacity of the entire world. The rest of the 25 percent total was made up of contributions from hydroelectric power and waste incineration plants. The country’s energy industry association, BDEW, said in a statement that the milestone reinforced Germany’s position as a leader in green technology. However, the country remains ten percent short of its primary target of achieving 35 percent of its total energy needs from renewables by 2035.
