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Danish offshore wind could help Europe ditch fossil fuels

Ritzau/The Local
Ritzau/The Local - [email protected]
Danish offshore wind could help Europe ditch fossil fuels
File photo of wind turbines. An ambitious plan could see Denmark provide wind power to millions of European homes. Photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

Leaders from Denmark, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands were scheduled to convene in Danish town Esbjerg on Wednesday to discuss details of an ambitious sustainable energy plan.

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The four countries will discuss a plan to increase offshore wind energy in the North Sea to at least 150 gigawatts by 2050, newspaper Jyllands-Posten reported on Tuesday.

That power could provide green energy to as many as 230 million households in Europe and will need investment of over 1,000 billion kroner.

Kristian Jensen, CEO of Green Power Denmark, an organisation that advocates for renewable energy, backed the plans in comments to newswire Ritzau.

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“We are very pleased that there are such high ambitions for what Denmark can deliver and how much the four countries together can deliver in relation to sustainable energy,” Jensen said.

“This is necessary if we are to free ourselves of fossil fuels. And if we quickly want to be free from Russian oil and gas,” he said.

Denmark will be responsible for 35 of the 150 planned gigawatts, Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten reports — up from 2.3 gigawatts in Danish waters in the North Sea today. To hit that mark, Denmark expects to install 10,000 new large wind turbines. 

Jensen said the plan could create jobs, with Danish companies such as Vestas and Ørsted involved in development of green energy.

“This agreement calls for massive investments in the production of more renewable energy, and Denmark has a head start because we have the entire value chain from the smallest details to the large constructions,” he said.

“The agreement could therefore mean thousands of jobs at these large companies. But also at… small and medium businesses that are subcontractors to the likes of Vestas and Ørsted,” he said.

The 150 gigawatts would cover the electric needs of about 230 million European households — about half the population of the EU. 

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