Thirty years after becoming a pioneer in offshore wind farming, Denmark now wants to expand the repertoire of renewables again – this time with the world’s first “energy islands.” The plans have long been discussed in the country but have now been accelerated amid the disruption to the global energy market caused by Russia’s Ukraine invasion, which Denmark hopes to address by providing more renewable energy to the mainland. Denmark’s power mix is largely shaped by wind energy. In 2021, wind power accounted for almost 50% of total electricity generation in the country, followed by bioenergy and fossil fuels – partly imported from Russia. But the government has already said earlier this year it hopes to stop Russian fossil fuel imports “as soon as possible”.
The plan includes building two islands. One will be in the North Sea, first serving facilities for 3GW of offshore wind farms and then will be expanded to 10GW. The offshore turbines that will supply power to the island will be larger than current turbines and will be located further out at sea than before. Denmark has a long history of exploiting the strong winds from the sea to produce electricity, with the first offshore wind farm set up in 1991. Now, the country hopes to take another big step with the construction of these two big energy islands, expanding further its renewable energy and hoping to leave behind its reliance on fossil fuels.