Denmark keen to join with Baltic countries on wind energy
Denmark is keen to accelerate joint projects with countries in and bordering the Baltic Sea region to increase offshore wind power production, energy minister Dan Jørgensen said ahead of an upcoming summit.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is scheduled later this month to host an international summit on wind power in the Baltic Sea.
The summit, which takes place on Denmark’s Baltic Sea island Bornholm on August 30th, will convene government leaders and political representatives from Germany, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and the EU Commission.
Energy security in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the climate crisis will be the focus of the summit, Climate, Energy and Critical Supplies Minister Dan Jørgensen told news wire Ritzau.
The Baltic Sea has large, untapped potential for energy production, according to Jørgensen.
“This is about accelerating partnerships with the EU that border the Baltic Sea. That’s an objective that is inherently good because it’s always could to work together on energy,” he said.
A framework for increasing sustainable energy, particularly wind power, will be a priority at the summit, the minister said.
A total of 2.8 gigawatts of wind power are currently produced in the Baltic Sea according to the Danish energy ministry.
Potentially, that could be increased to 93 gigawatts by 2050, an EU Commission assessment has found.
An increase in energy production of this magnitude would lessen the reliance on Russian gas in EU countries.
“Since the Baltic countries, for example, don’t traditionally use wind power, there’s an enormous potential for this helping to make them independent [of Russian gas],” Jørgensen said.
Denmark is currently the largest actor in Baltic Sea energy production, he said.
“But we also expect to get bigger. If we are to get bigger, it is clear that we have to work with others. Because we must, if we want the biggest projects, have a buyer for the very large amount of green energy that will be produced,” he said.
No specific details of the kind of agreement that can be expected from the summit were given by Jørgensen. Neither did he give detail of what Denmark might be expected to offer in any deal.
Earlier this year, Frederiksen hosted a green energy summit in western Danish city Esbjerg, at which the government signed an agreement with Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany for a ten-fold increase of offshore wind power capacity in the North Sea to 150 gigawatts by 2050.
The Baltic Sea does not have the same potential, Jørgensen said.
“The North Sea has historically been better at development than the Baltic Sea. And there is also a larger potential in the North Sea than there is in the Baltic Sea,” he said, while also noting that a potential capacity of 93 gigawatts is “significant”.
“You must remember that one gigawatt today is enough to deliver electricity to over one million – maybe up to 1.5 million – households,” he said.
READ ALSO: Danish offshore wind could help Europe ditch fossil fuels
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Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is scheduled later this month to host an international summit on wind power in the Baltic Sea.
The summit, which takes place on Denmark’s Baltic Sea island Bornholm on August 30th, will convene government leaders and political representatives from Germany, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and the EU Commission.
Energy security in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the climate crisis will be the focus of the summit, Climate, Energy and Critical Supplies Minister Dan Jørgensen told news wire Ritzau.
The Baltic Sea has large, untapped potential for energy production, according to Jørgensen.
“This is about accelerating partnerships with the EU that border the Baltic Sea. That’s an objective that is inherently good because it’s always could to work together on energy,” he said.
A framework for increasing sustainable energy, particularly wind power, will be a priority at the summit, the minister said.
A total of 2.8 gigawatts of wind power are currently produced in the Baltic Sea according to the Danish energy ministry.
Potentially, that could be increased to 93 gigawatts by 2050, an EU Commission assessment has found.
An increase in energy production of this magnitude would lessen the reliance on Russian gas in EU countries.
“Since the Baltic countries, for example, don’t traditionally use wind power, there’s an enormous potential for this helping to make them independent [of Russian gas],” Jørgensen said.
Denmark is currently the largest actor in Baltic Sea energy production, he said.
“But we also expect to get bigger. If we are to get bigger, it is clear that we have to work with others. Because we must, if we want the biggest projects, have a buyer for the very large amount of green energy that will be produced,” he said.
No specific details of the kind of agreement that can be expected from the summit were given by Jørgensen. Neither did he give detail of what Denmark might be expected to offer in any deal.
Earlier this year, Frederiksen hosted a green energy summit in western Danish city Esbjerg, at which the government signed an agreement with Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany for a ten-fold increase of offshore wind power capacity in the North Sea to 150 gigawatts by 2050.
The Baltic Sea does not have the same potential, Jørgensen said.
“The North Sea has historically been better at development than the Baltic Sea. And there is also a larger potential in the North Sea than there is in the Baltic Sea,” he said, while also noting that a potential capacity of 93 gigawatts is “significant”.
“You must remember that one gigawatt today is enough to deliver electricity to over one million – maybe up to 1.5 million – households,” he said.
READ ALSO: Danish offshore wind could help Europe ditch fossil fuels
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