Solar Power Feed-In Up 40 Percent in October – Renewables Share Above 63 Percent Since Start of Year

Münster – Solar power feed-in in Germany rose by around 40 percent in October 2026 compared with the same month a year earlier. Wind energy and hydropower, by contrast, fed in less electricity. This is shown by an analysis by the Internationales Wirtschaftsforum Regenerative Energien (IWR) of data from European transmission system operators (ENTSO-E).

Continued photovoltaic expansion and above-average sunshine are supporting solar power feed-in. According to preliminary figures from the German Weather Service (DWD), October was already the eighth month in a row with more sunshine than the long-term average. Since the start of the year, solar power feed-in has been well above the previous year’s level and is making a significant contribution to growth in renewable energy.

Solar Power Up 40.4 Percent in October – Wind Energy and Hydropower Decline

Solar power feed-in rose by 40.4 percent in October to 5.1 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) (October 2025: 3.6 billion kWh). In addition to photovoltaic expansion, sunnier weather is likely to have contributed.

Wind power feed-in fell by 12.6 percent to 14.5 billion kWh (October 2025: 16.6 billion kWh). Hydropower also remained below the level of October 2025, with a decline of 29.5 percent to 0.8 billion kWh (October 2025: 1.1 billion kWh). Biomass, at 3.1 billion kWh, was close to the previous year’s level.

In total, renewable energy fed in 23.5 billion kWh of electricity in October, 3.9 percent less than in the same month a year earlier (24.4 billion kWh). Its share of total recorded electricity feed-in was 61.0 percent (October 2025: 63.6 percent).

Among conventional energy sources, feed-in from lignite rose by 23.7 percent to 7.0 billion kWh. Feed-in from gas-fired power plants, by contrast, fell by 4 percent to 5.1 billion kWh.

Sunnier Than Average October – Rainfall Does Not Offset Dryness

According to preliminary DWD data, the sun shone for around 122 hours across Germany in October. That was about 12 percent more than the 1961–1990 average (109 hours). In October 2025, it was only 79 hours. Sunshine duration in 2026 was thus around 54 percent above the previous year’s figure. The exact contribution of the weather to the increase in solar power cannot be determined from this, however.

North Rhine-Westphalia is likely to have recorded the highest sunshine duration at around 141 hours, while Schleswig-Holstein is expected to have had the lowest at around 100 hours. The mean temperature of 10.6 °C was 1.6 degrees above the 1961–1990 climate average.

At around 76 litres per square metre, precipitation exceeded the long-term average for the first time since February, 36 percent above the 1961–1990 level. Despite the rain, soil moisture deficits and low water levels in large rivers persist, according to the DWD.

Renewable Energy Raises Its Electricity Feed-In by 8.1 Percent Since Start of Year

From January to October 2026, renewable energy fed in a total of 233.6 billion kWh, according to the IWR analysis. That is 8.1 percent more than in the same period of the previous year (216.1 billion kWh). Their share of total recorded electricity feed-in rose to 63.4 percent (January–October 2025: 62.5 percent). Total electricity feed-in increased by 6.4 percent to 368.2 billion kWh.

Wind energy remains the most important renewable source at 113.0 billion kWh, an increase of 8.3 percent. Solar energy grew by 16.0 percent to 81.2 billion kWh. Hydropower feed-in, by contrast, fell by 15.5 percent to 10.2 billion kWh.

Conventional electricity feed-in rose by 3.7 percent to 134.6 billion kWh. Hard coal recorded an increase of 11.4 percent to 24.9 billion kWh, lignite rose by 0.9 percent to 55.6 billion kWh, and feed-in from gas-fired power plants increased by 1.8 percent to 46.4 billion kWh.

The year so far shows that renewables account for around 79 percent of the total increase in feed-in. Although conventional feed-in has also risen in absolute terms, its share of total recorded feed-in has fallen from 37.5 to 36.6 percent.

About the Data from European Grid Operators (ENTSO-E)

The IWR analysis is based on country data reported by national transmission system operators to ENTSO-E (as of November 2, 2026, preliminary). It covers net electricity feed-in into the power grids; self-consumption is not included. Hydropower is reported excluding pumped-storage plants. The data may therefore differ from official statistics on gross electricity generation.

Source: IWR Online, 03 Nov 2026