Renewables covered more than half of Germany’s power consumption in the first six months of 2020, according to a first estimate by think tank Agora Energiewende.

The coronavirus-related drop in electricity demand, a slump in coal use and strong winds and long periods of sunshine have pushed the share of renewables to a record 50.3 percent of power consumption in Germany in the first half of 2020, think tank Agora Energiewende said based on a first analysis of preliminary data. Renewables produced 8 percent more power than during the same period last year, while lignite production fell 37 percent and hard coal a staggering 46 percent. German electricity exports dropped about two-thirds, according to CLEW.

Economy minister Peter Altmaier called the high renewables share “good news for climate action” in a message on Twitter.

Agora Energiewende cited preliminary data showing that the energy sector significantly reduced CO₂ emissions – by 30 million tonnes of CO₂ – largely due to the pandemic’s effects on demand and power prices. Germany will “most likely” reach its original 2020 target of a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990, think tank head Patrick Graichen told news agency dpa, confirming earlier estimates.