BERLIN -- Germany recorded about 25% more electricity generated from renewable sources in the first three months of the year compared with the same period last year thanks to unusually windy and sunny weather, industry officials said Monday.

       Preliminary calculations by the energy lobby group BDEW and the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research indicate that Germany generated about 74.5 billion kilowatt hours of renewable power in the first quarter.

       Renewable energy provided about 54% of Germany's energy needs in January and February, they said.

       The German government has pledged to ramp up the use of solar and wind power as part of its plan to wean the country off Russian fossil fuels because of the war in Ukraine.

       But like other European countries, Germany is expected to fill part of the shortfall with fossil fuel imports from other regions of the world in the short term.

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