The country’s energy companies are not convinced that wind power is the way of the future................. The companies believe that coal-powered electricity will still be the largest supplier of the nation’s energy, despite the trend toward environmentally-conscious sources. ‘Wind energy can’t solve the energy problem in the near future because it’s too unstable and possibly too expensive,’ said Anders Eldrup, chief executive of Dong.

Energy Policy General Denmark

A sweeping plan to dramatically increase the European Union’s use of renewable energy sources by 2020 has Danish politicians and exporters looking towards a greener future. Renewable energy use in the EU currently sits at 6 percent, but, according to Børsen financial daily, the European Commission’s forthcoming proposal for a common energy policy would increase that level to 20 percent within two decades. Much of the increase will rely on sources such as wind and bio-ethanol, areas where the nation is already strongly represented on the world market. Exporters are seeing the proposal as an opportunity to increase their share of European sales.

General Europe Denmark

Both supporters and opponents of the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm are hailing the findings of recent research on the environmental impact of Danish offshore wind turbines. Supporters of Cape Wind Associates' plan to build 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound say the research released last week at an international conference supports their contention that wind farms pose little threat to wildlife. But Cape Wind foes say the Danish research highlights the need to carefully study the environmental impact of offshore wind turbines on a case-by-case basis.

Impact on Wildlife General Zoning/Planning Massachusetts Denmark

The nation that leads the world in wind-farm development is going cool on the environmentally friendly source of power. Since the boom year of 2000, when as many as 748 turbines were erected, the number being built in Denmark has steadily fallen. So far this year, only six new wind turbines have been put up. While many countries around the world are clamouring to buy Danish wind turbines, Denmark’s government is finding it difficult to convince its own population to accept an increase in the domestic use of the green technology. Describing turbines as “poorly located, noisy and unsightly”, a number of local authorities, backed by grass-roots campaigners, are rejecting plans for new wind farms.

General Denmark UK

The country’s pioneering role in wind energy is threatened unless local governments ease building codes, warns the minister of the environment. Strict zoning codes have virtually halted the construction of new wind turbines in Denmark, according to Marianne Bender, the chairperson of the Organisation for Sustainable Energy. While 748 turbines were put into operation in 2000, that number fell to a mere 6 in 2006. ‘Protests from citizens and lobby organisations have hindered the building of wind turbines many places in the country,’ she told daily newspaper Nyhedsavisen. ‘At the same time, one of the government’s first actions was to remove subsidies so turbines had to compete on market conditions.’

Taxes & Subsidies General Zoning/Planning Denmark

A twin national focus on renewable energy and reduced consumption - combined with North Sea oil reserves, have helped to make Denmark the only EU country not reliant on imported energy, according to the latest statistics from Eurostat.

Energy Policy General Denmark

PARIS As recently as two years ago, few energy analysts believed that ocean power - harvesting electricity from tides and waves - had a future. Offshore conditions seemed too harsh, the costs too high. The International Energy Agency, a Paris-based research body that advises western governments, dismissed the technology in one paragraph in a 570-page study of energy resources that it published in 2004, saying it was "still in its infancy." But with crude oil heading to $80 a barrel, interest - from both investors and researchers - has surged.

Technology General Europe Denmark

WPD and Wind-projekt filed “open door application” for a 455MW offshore wind farm at the Danish part of Kriegers Flak.

General Denmark

BOSTON — A Danish wind farm developer yesterday encouraged Massachusetts legislators to support off-shore wind power, saying concerns about navigation, the view and the environment could be resolved.

General Massachusetts Denmark

Most shocking of all is new evidence that the need to switch on and off base load fossil fuel power plants, to provide back up for unreliable wind turbines, actually gives off more carbon emissions than keeping them running continuously, thus negating any carbon savings from wind. Alas, only when our governments have allowed thousands more turbines to disfigure Britain’s countryside, not least by their grotesque bending of the planning rules, will the futility of the ‘great Wind Scam’ finally be recognised.

Energy Policy General Europe Denmark Germany UK

At LM Glasfiber in Lunderskov, Helge Sander, the Danish Minister of Science, has inaugurated the world’s first wind tunnel custom-designed for research and testing of the aerodynamic properties of rotor blades.

Technology General Denmark

SAMSOE, Denmark -- In the late 1990s, Denmark set out to turn this farming and summer-vacation island in the Kattegat Sea into a showcase for clean energy. The government dangled generous financial subsidies. A former environmental studies teacher, Soren Hermansen, was hired to persuade residents to invest in wind turbines, solar panels, electric cars and giant straw-burning furnaces.

Taxes & Subsidies General Denmark

They introduced the world to "environmentally friendly" energy, but now some of Europe's "greenest" countries are under pressure to backtrack on wind farms as public anger grows over their impact on the countryside.

Energy Policy Impact on People Lighting Noise Impact on Birds Impact on Views General Impact on Landscape Europe Denmark Germany UK

In conclusion, this study has shown that in many countries deregulation is having the expected effect of increased competition leading to price reduction. However, it is evident that pricing in markets depends not just on the status of deregulation, but also on the broader aspects of competition. Key factors here include the balance of supply and demand, generation fuel costs, the learning process that new markets go through, competition within different market segments and the costs of access to transmission and distribution networks. Deregulation is a long-term process that requires sustained attention.

Energy Policy General Europe Denmark Germany UK