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Wind is set to be the big green winner in the EU
Wind energy is set to be the big technological winner in Europe over the next 10 years, as EU countries get down to the serious work of meeting renewable energy targets
Wind energy is set to be the big technological winner in Europe over the next 10 years, as EU countries get down to the serious work of meeting renewable energy targets, reports the Danish Energy Association in its daily newsletter.
The EU has set the goal that 20% of its energy needs will be met by renewable energy by 2020, and according to a report from environmental news and information service ENDSEurope, wind energy is set to be a bigger contributor to the green energy mix than solar power and hydro power combined.
Given that 70% more energy is obtained from hydro power than from wind power at the present time, the forecast of wind's future dominance is highly noteworthy.
Denmark has long enjoyed a leading position in the wind energy sector, but although the decision has been taken to build the country's biggest offshore wind farm yet – the 400 MW Anholt wind farm – the government has no other big initiatives planned in this area over the next 10 years, unlike the UK, Germany, Spain and The Netherlands, which are putting major investments into wind energy.
Instead, Denmark is looking more towards biomass as a major component of the aim to reach the national target of 30% renewable energy by 2020. By sector, the targeted contribution of renewable energy is 51.9% for electricity production, 39.8% for heating/cooling, and 10.1% for the transport sector.
Divisional manager Lars Hansen of the Danish Energy Association comments: "In just 10 years over half of Danish electricity production will come from renewable energy. We reckon that the grid can handle the challenge, but it is extremely important that we make electricity use more flexible, for example with heat pumps, electric vehicles and intelligent grids."
