Where does your energy come from?

Although energy can be obtained in many forms, including mechanical, electrical and nuclear, one particular form has dominated industrial history – heat energy from burning fossil fuels.

Today, fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas account for 85% of Danish energy consumption. Although fossil fuel supplies remain plentiful, the threat posed by global warming makes it imperative to focus on renewable energy sources in order to reduce CO2 emissions.

Visionary energy policy
To that end, the Danish government has formulated an ambitious energy strategy to 2025, one of the main objectives of which is to reduce the use of fossil fuels by at least 15% compared to today.
 
Renewable energy is set to play a central role in meeting the country’s future energy needs. It already accounts for over 15% of Denmark’s gross energy consumption and about 27% of the electricity generated. The goal is for renewable energy to account for at least 30% of total Danish energy consumption by 2025.
 
Promoting renewables
Renewable energy sources have an advantage over fossil fuels in that they do not increase atmospheric CO2 levels. Wind and wave power for example are intrinsically CO2 free, while combusting biomass releases the same amount of CO2 that was absorbed from the air to create it – a neutral process overall. Hence, investing in renewable energy technologies is an effective way to combat global warming.

Denmark’s renewable energy options include wind, waste, biomass, geothermal and solar energy. Biomass (including waste) is the most important source of renewable energy in Denmark accounting for approximately 70% of renewable energy consumption.

The Danish government is signalling its broad-ranging support for transitioning to renewables through a range of promotional programmes involving wind energy, biogas, waste exploitation, heat pumps etc, as well as further improving its renewable energy subsidy scheme to make the unit cost of renewables increasingly competitive.

Pioneering wind power
Denmark pioneered commercial development of wind power during the 1970s and today almost half the world’s wind turbines
are produced by Danish manufacturers.

Denmark was among the first in the world to establish offshore wind farms. Existing offshore capacity is planned to be doubled by 2010/2011– bringing it up to 825 MW.

Harnessing hydrogen
Denmark is currently exploring a range of Hydrogen Society initiatives. The country’s first full-scale Wind-Hydrogen energy plant began operation on the island of Lolland in May 2007. It is the EU’s first full-scale demonstration facility for residential fuel cell driven Combined Heat and Power (CHP).
 
Hydrogen is produced by using surplus wind power to electrolyze water.


Related Case: Samsoe renewable energy Island
Energy is all around us: In the wind and waves, in solar rays, in agricultural by-products. The challenge is to harness this energy to make it a viable alternative to fossil fuels. 

Film about Wind Power