Denmark political parties agree to boost offshore wind energy

wind-power-projects

Denmark political parties agree to boost offshore wind energy

Greentech Lead Europe: Governing and opposition parties
in Denmark have agreed to boost offshore wind energy in the country. Denmark
plans to build two offshore wind parks with total capacity of 1,000 MW by 2020.

The country already installed wind power capacity of
3,955 MW, which meets about a fifth of the nation’s total electricity needs.
The government aims to boost the use of renewable energy to 50 percent of total
electricity consumption from around 25 percent, and the new wind parks are
central to that target.

According to a report in Reuters, a 400 MW wind farm
would be built at Horns Rev, in the North Sea off the west coast of Jutland,
where a 160 MW park and a 209 MW second phase are already in operation.

The country also plans to build a 600 MW wind power park
at Kriegers Flak in the Baltic Sea between Denmark and Sweden.

“Almost 35 percent of our energy will come from
renewable energy sources and nearly 50 percent of our electricity consumption
will come from wind,” said Martin Lidegaard, minister for Climate, Energy
and Building.

The government anticipates that carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions are to be reduced from the 1990 level by 34 percent by 2020, and
total energy consumption will fall 12 percent from the 2006 level.

The government has estimated the measures will increase
the energy bill of an average Danish household by about 1,300 crowns ($230) per
year, the ministry said.

Recently, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) ranked Denmark as the world’s top leader in the cleantech industry.

[email protected]