There is some wind Denmark: Whether you reach the Scandinavian country by air, land or sea, you cannot help but notice the peaceful presence of countless people whirlwind wind farms. Copenhagen generates more than half of its energy needs from wind power, 25% is generated from ocean wind power, which is also being followed with interest Villages Neighborscreating a veritable archipelago of islands of energy North Sea. The European Union has given its consent: by 2030, emissions should be reduced by at least 55% and the share of renewable energies in the energy mix increased to at least 42.5%, i.e. double the current level Brussels. But underestimated costs, insufficient infrastructure and environmental and landscape changes are making this transition easier said than done.
“It all started in the mid-1970s when we imported 99% of our energy middle East“, explained Iver Hoj Nielsen, head of P4G activities at State of Green, a public-private initiative bringing together the Danish government and trade associations. “The 1973 energy crisis prompted us to act in three ways: by instituting identification research programs new resourcesworks on energy efficiency and the production of oil and gas North Sea to fund the transition to renewable energy”. Back then the first experiments with wind turbines, thirty years ago the first commercial wind farm in the world: today with approx 7GW installedof which almost 5 on land (land) and 2.3 offshore (sea) of Denmark, according to estimates by wind Europe, covers 55% of its electricity requirements from wind power, 25% of which comes from offshore wind energy alone. The development was characterized by a political vision shared and by public pressure. Climate change was barely represented in the 2015 election campaign, in 2017 it was the most important issue for 27% of voters and in 2019 it was the most important issue with 46% of Danes. This orientation has led to houses of Parliament to be approved in 2020 climate lawThe aim is to reduce emissions by 70% compared to 1990 levels within ten years.
The strategic focus of these projects is the port of Esbjerg, in the west of the country, on the North Sea. Since the beginning of the last century, Esbjerg has been Denmark’s most important center for shipping, trade and fishing. With oil and gas production in the 1970s, Esbjerg became the Danish capital raw. In the third millennium, the port experienced a new one transformation, which is becoming a center for renewable energy, with an annual transport of 1,200 MW of offshore wind energy: a total of 23.6 GW and 4,150 turbines have been carried here. Last year Esbjerg hosted the first edition of the North Sea Summit, which brought together Denmark, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. On this occasion, the four countries formalized the “North Sea Coalition‘ was also extended to France, the UK, Ireland, Norway and a few weeks ago Luxembourg. The nine countries, with a total of 175,000 kilometers of coastal development, have committed to achieving offshore wind power production of 120 GW by 2030 and at least 300 GW by 2050. Not easy goals that above all exert strong pressure you carry yourself, which currently do not have the capacity to support these volumes. The Esbjerg summit was then followed by the start of a partnership between the six most important offshore windports in Northern Europe, namely Esbjerg (Denmark), East End (Belgium), Groningen/Eemshaven (Netherlands), Lower Saxony/Cuxhaven (Germany), Nantes Saint Nazaire (France) and Humber (UK) with the aim of facilitating this infrastructure development.
Cooperation between the countries bordering the North Sea will experience a new dimension energy islands: natural islands with ad hoc arrangements or entirely artificial constructions dedicated to offshore wind power generation offshore photovoltaics and hydrogen. Denmark plans to develop two islands by 2030. An artificial island in the North Sea is planned with an initial capacity of 3 GW and a potential of 10 GW. In the BalticInstead, an energy hub will be built around the natural island Bornholm able to produce at least 3 GW. Germany is involved in this project and it is expected that 1.2 GW will be transferred from Bornholm to the Danish region in the future Zealandand 2 GW from Bornholm to Germany. In fact, energy islands have also attracted interest from other countries in the region. Belgium is expected to start building its first island next year, expanding an already existing offshore power grid Connection of the adjacent offshore wind farms to a capacity of 3.5 GW and thus also reaches the United Kingdom and Denmark. Holland is also working with Germany on its own island, with which it will be connected Great Britain, Belgium and Norway. But the islands are also connected to each other: Denmark and Belgium have agreed to merge the marine energy networks between the two countriesunprecedented European energy grida new philosophy compared to traditional sea wind farms connected to a single country and being developed as part of the North Sea Wind Power Hub consortium.
“As it happens on every island, that is residents It’s not an easy life for them,” he says Hanne Storm Edelfsen, Vice President of Energy Islands at Energinet. “The residents of Bornholm They support the investments because they give the island a future with new jobs.” But the development of infrastructure measures with significant impacts on the environment and the landscape also entails many critical questions. For Vesterhav South offshore wind farm in the North Sea, in a traditional tourist area of significant interest naturalistic characterThe design of a marine wind farm with 20 turbines less than 10 kilometers from shore has been the subject of a long dialogue between public authorities, private developers and initially oppositional citizensnoticeable effect of the turbines, the possible impact on tourism and the depreciation of the buildings in the area. The process ended with the assignment of 20% of the shares local populationwhereby the residents become co-owners of the park.
However, the main problem facing the industry continues to be i Costs. A few days ago, the Danish government’s cold shower hit the future energy island of the North Sea: the Tender startplanned before the summer break was postponed for the second time due to the economic estimates of the project, which had a total value of EUR 1.5 million 28 billion eurosFor the state, this would mean an expense of around 6.7 billion euros. “In its current form, the costs are too high and the risks too great,” he said Ministry of Energy. “The project is far from profitable, which is a clear prerequisite for its implementation in the political agreements.” dicastery announced the need to explore cost-cutting alternatives, which cast some shadows real feasibility one of the most ambitious projects. Even the Bornholm project, a public-private partnership, is proceeding with some uncertainties: the first dialogues with the market, with the call for proposals investorshave not brought the desired results and the authorities are left by the window. Nothing, however, that many players in the wind industry do not already know. “Offshore wind is a imaginary market. It is only 20 years old and not economically viable,” said one of the supply chain protagonists. “There are few who make money, and why? operator “If we manage to break even, it will take at least another five years.”