Wind energy in Denmark - EPU-NTUA, Greece
Summary
Denmark has relatively modest average wind speeds in the range of 4,9 to 5,6 m/s measured at 10 m height. Onshore wind resources are highest in the Western part of the country, and on the Eastern islands with coastlines facing South or West. The country has very large offshore wind resources, and large areas of sea territory with a shallow water depth of 5 to 15 m, where siting is most feasible. These sites offer higher wind speeds, in the range of roughly 8,5 to 9 m/s at 50 m height.. The above case study was included in the results of the WP-6 of EU - OPET CHP/DH project. Partners were six oganizations in the OPET network: EPU-NTUA (Greece), ZERI (China), EREC, CSFTA, ISNOVA (Italy) and ENEA (Italy). Activities included the development of case studies to disseminate EU energy information and increase the awareness of OPET around China. The main result has been increased awareness of EU energy policies, energy efficient and renewable energy technologies, products, and management mechanisms amongst Chinese energy stakeholders.
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| End-user area | Industry Sustainable communities |
| Target audience | Households Utilities |
| Technical scope | Wind |
Context
EPU-NTUA, in cooperation with the above mentioned organizations, carried out Work Package 6 of the project OPET CHP/DHC (Contract No. NNE5/2002/52), entitled "Increasing promotion and market penetration of EU energy-efficient measures in China". The during of the WP was 14 months.
In 2001, 86% of the wind turbine electricity generated in Denmark came from privately owned turbines and 14% from utility owned turbines. This picture will change somewhat in 2002 and 2003, with the construction of the two 160 MW utility owned offshore wind farms Horns Rev and Rodsand. More than 2.600 MW of wind power is currently installed on land in Denmark. Middelgrunden, next to Copenhagen, is the first large offshore pilot project (40 MW). It was commissioned in 2000. Two wind farms of 160 MW each are being installed in the North Sea at Horns Rev (2002) and in the Baltic Sea at Rodsand (2003).
After the oil crises of the 1970's, the power generation system in Denmark changed from being largely oil fired to being largely coal-fired. The conversion to coal-firing meant that Denmark had relatively large greenhouse gas emissions per capita and, as climate change became an issue of major concern, energy policy to a large extent became synonymous with environmental policy. The environmental situation explained above is the basic reason why wind energy, as the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has such a prominent place in Danish energy planning.
Objectives
The main objectives of the WP6 were:
Process
The Tasks involved the following activities:
The Danish energy policy for RES has been a model for many markets in the world. The most important characteristic of the Danish energy policy has been its remarkable continuity and the careful long-term planning scenarios, such as "Energy 21".
The basic support mechanism for wind energy in Denmark is essentially a fixed price system, with an environmental premium per kWh in addition to the market electricity price. The premium is financed as an addition to the electricity price per kWh, shared equally among all electricity consumers in relation to their electricity use. This is not a state support mechanism in legal terms, but the excess cost of RES has been internalized in the electricity price. The government has been studying a so-called green certificate market based scheme which would be combined with a Renewable Portfolio System (RPS) requiring electricity consumers to buy an increasing share of their electricity from renewable sources. However, after a parliamentary hearing in September 2001 the government concluded that the scheme was impracticable for the time being, and its implementation has been postponed.
An important difference between the Danish and other national governments' support for wind energy RD&D is that the Danish support has primarily been directed towards basic research, whereas other governments have tended to support wind turbine development. The international market for wind energy is clearly partly due to two key elements of the Danish research:
In many ways Denmark has been a full-scale laboratory for the Danish wind industry. This has not only helped the Danish industry itself, but has helped create confidence in this new technology to an extent which no single test wind farm could have done. An important asset of Denmark 's wind market is the free flow of information between the different actors (including manufacturing, research, development, engineering, services, etc). This information flow is facilitated by the relatively limited size of the country and the industry. Wind turbines are a "highly visible technology" and the models for dealing with "public planning issues" have been very important for the acceptance of the technology and consequently for market development. In Denmark the public planning procedures were initially developed through local trial and error. In 1992 more systematic planning procedures were developed at the national level, with directives for local planners. In addition, an executive order from the Minister of the Environment and Energy ordered municipalities to find suitable sites for wind turbine siting throughout the country. This "prior planning" with public hearings in advance of any actual applications for siting of turbines aided the public acceptance of wind turbines
Actions
- Market Analysis
- Webpage
- Articles - Brochures
Financial resources and partners
Partners in this project and their roles were:
| European Commission | |
| ZERI, EREC, CSFTA, EPU-NTUA, ISNOVA, ENEA | |
| Total Cost | not available |
Results
The results of the project were:
The results of the project are laid down in four main deliverables, which are available from the OPET Network website:
Lessons learned and replication potential
To conclude, it can be said that the success of the Danish wind industry is not based on a carefully planned micro-managed strategy (as most people think), but on a stable energy policy and in long-term planning scenarios. With this strategic approach, Denmark has succeeded in ensuring consistency in its energy policy, and has succeeded in sending strong signals to market actors about the policy environment in which they will operate.
However, the long term approach adopted by Denmark runs contrary to the present European liberalized electricity market. The adoption of European Directive 96/92/CE concerning common rules for the electricity market will insert dynamism, and therefore increased risk, into the market. Moreover, the present Danish renewable energy market is confronted with additional unpredictability, due to the apparent different energy approach of the newly elected Danish Government, and the possible modifications to the existing policy that they may bring about.
Contact for more information
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