Renewable energy asset classEnergy transition 2025: Balance sheet, records and prospects

Time to read7 min.

updated at06/10/2026

Categoryenergy transition

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Political upheavals, global tensions, economic shifts: The past twelve months have kept us all breathing. However, despite the challenges, we can undoubtedly stand firm: The energy transition is progressing step by step - both at German and European level.

The expansion of renewables is one of the most important measures in Europe, as it is a prerequisite for us to achieve the climate goals and secure the energy supply in the long term. A recent analysis by the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) dated October 2025 shows: The transformation is progressing much faster than expected, which provides positive impetus for the entire industry. The globally high willingness to invest in renewable energies is also an encouraging sign.¹

Photovoltaics

Last year, Germany and the EU managed to set new records in the field of photovoltaics. In 2025, the newly installed photovoltaic capacity in Germany exceeded the 20 gigawatt mark for the first time within a year. This milestone shows the central importance of solar energy for achieving national climate goals and energy independence.² Europe as a whole is also making impressive progress. In June 2025, photovoltaics could temporarily take the top position among power sources: More than 22 percent of electricity production came from solar plants, outperforming both nuclear (21.8 percent) and wind power (15.8 percent). In the first quarter of 2025, solar energy was able to cover around 6.3 percent of electricity demand across the EU, compared to 4.7 percent in the comparison period of 2024.³

Wind energy

Not only did the sun deliver record values, wind power also consolidated its position as a supporting pillar of the energy transition. By mid-2025, 31 offshore projects with a total output of 9.2 gigawatts will feed clean electricity into the grid in Germany - a solid increase compared to mid-2024 (29 projects, 8.9 GW).⁴⁵ The world’s most powerful floating offshore plant⁶ is currently being built in France - a strong signal for the innovative power of the European market. Onshore wind power developed even more dynamically. While 253 new turbines were commissioned in the first half of 2024, there were already 405 turbines with an output of 2,157 megawatts in the same period in 2025. Adjusted for dismantling, the picture is even clearer: The net expansion has more than doubled with an increase of 107 percent.⁷

Storage capacity and networks

Another building block of the energy transition has ended its niche existence and is developing into the supporting pillar of the system: the storage capacities. According to a study by Fraunhofer ISE, demand in Germany alone is estimated at 104 gigawatt hours by 2030.⁸ The installed battery storage capacity climbed from around 12 GWh at the end of 2023 to almost 24 GWh at the end of 2025.⁹ The battery fleet across Europe grew to over 60 GWh by the end of 2024 and continued to develop at double-digit growth rates in 2025.¹⁰ The balance sheet is also positive with the often criticised network expansion: The Federal Network Agency’s target of 4,400 completed cable kilometres for 2025 was significantly exceeded.¹¹ This is flanked by the “EU Action Plan for Grids”, with which the European Union mobilises targeted investments to make the networks fit for the renewable age across borders.¹²

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The connection between the electricity mix and the heat market

In 2024, renewable energies covered more than 60 percent of public net electricity generation in Germany for the first time - a level that has also established itself as the new normal in 2025 despite weather-related fluctuations.¹³ According to an analysis by Aurora Energy Research, the expansion of renewables is massively dampening the price shock of fossil fuels: A further increase in capacity by 2030 could lower the average exchange electricity price by around 20 euros per megawatt hour.¹⁴ Cheaper electricity is the strongest lever for the heat transition. After an interim slump in 2024, heat pump sales increased sharply again in the first half of 2025: Around 139,000 units sold represent an increase of 55 percent compared to the same period last year.¹⁵ The conclusion is clear: The greater the share of renewable sources in the electricity mix, the more attractive the electrification of buildings becomes.

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Despite positive developments: Remaining challenges

As encouraging as the record numbers may be, it would be wrong to close your eyes to the remaining hurdles. The core question of the energy transition remains: How do we guarantee security of supply when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining? The system urgently needs more flexible, secured power as a backup for the “dark silence”. Another needlehole remains the expansion of the network. While new capacity is being built in the windy north, there is often a lack of electric motorways to efficiently transport energy to the industrial centres in the south. That’s why the pace of pipeline construction needs to be accelerated further.¹⁶ The fight against the bureaucracy jungle is also far from over. Although the German Federal Government reacted with accelerated approval procedures for renewable projects in 2025,¹⁷ in practice complex requirements still slow down implementation in many places. In addition, there is a difficult market environment with volatile political and economic factors. Companies and investors need one thing above all: reliable framework conditions.

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¹https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2025-10/studie-ausbau-erneuerbarer-energien-pariser-abkommen

²https://www.photovoltaik.info/news/solaranlagen-deutschland-meldet-rekord-bei-installationen-2025/  

³https://enery.energy/photovoltaik-in-europa/  

⁴https://www.wind-energie.de/fileadmin/redaktion/dokumente/publikationen-oeffentlich/themen/06-zahlen-und-fakten/2025_Status_des_Offshore-Windenergieausbaus_Erstes_Halbjahr.pdf  

⁵https://www.wind-energie.de/fileadmin/redaktion/dokumente/publikationen-oeffentlich/themen/06-zahlen-und-fakten/20240715_Status_des_Offshore-Windenergieausbaus_Halbjahr_2024.pdf 

⁶https://www.offshore-windindustrie.de/windparks/europa  

⁷ https://www.iwr.de/news/ausbau-windenergie-deutschland-verdoppelt-neue-windenergieleistung-an-land-im-ersten-halbjahr-2025-news39215#:~:text=Auf%20die%20Windenergie%20an%20Land,mit%20der%20Stromproduktion%20beginnen%20k%C3%B6nnen

⁸https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/press-media/press-releases/2025/public-electricity-generation-2024-renewable-energies-cover-more-than-60-percent-of-german-electricity-consumption-for-the-first-time.html 

⁹ https://battery-charts.de/de/home-de/ 

¹⁰https://www.solarpowereurope.org/insights/outlooks/european-market-outlook-for-battery-storage-2025-2029 

¹¹ https://www.netzausbau.de/prognose#:~:text=Insgesamt%20bel%C3%A4uft%20sich%20der%20Bedarf,2025%20anvisierten%204.400%20km%20%C3%BCbertroffen 

¹²https://energy.ec.europa.eu/news/eu-guidance-ensuring-electricity-grids-are-fit-future-2025-06-02_en 

¹³https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/press-media/press-releases/2025/public-electricity-generation-2024-renewable-energies-cover-more-than-60-percent-of-german-electricity-consumption-for-the-first-time.html 

¹⁴ ww.agora-energiewende.de/publikationen/erneuerbare-energien-senken-strompreise-unabhaengig-von-der-nachfrage  

¹⁵https://www.energie.de/et/news-detailansicht/nsctrl/detail/News/waermepumpen-absatz-waechst-um-55-prozent?utm_source=chatgpt.com  

¹⁶ https://www.bundeswirtschaftsministerium.de/Redaktion/DE/Dossier/netze-und-netzausbau.html#:~:text=Die%20i.R.d.%20regelm%C3%A4%C3%9Figen%20Netzausbau%2DControlling,liegen%20in%20Zust%C3%A4ndigkeit%20der%20Bundesl%C3%A4nder.&text=Zusammenfassend%20ist%20im%20Jahr%202022,haben%20den%20vollst%C3%A4ndigen%20Betrieb%20aufgenommen 

¹⁷https://www.bundesumweltministerium.de/pressemitteilung/bundesregierung-bringt-schnellere-genehmigungsverfahren-fuer-erneuerbare-energien-auf-den-weg   

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Renewable energy asset classEnergy transition 2025: Balance sheet, records and prospects

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Photovoltaics

Wind energy

Storage capacity and networks

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The connection between the electricity mix and the heat market

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Despite positive developments: Remaining challenges

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Importance for klimaVest

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Renewable energy asset classEnergy transition 2025: Balance sheet, records and prospects

Storage capacity and networks

The connection between the electricity mix and the heat market

Despite positive developments: Remaining challenges

Importance for klimaVest

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