Climate changes have increased the global focus on alternative forms of energy that reduce the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere. A growing share of our energy must come from renewable energy sources such as the Sun, wind and biomass in future if global warming is to be slowed down. Add to this that renewable energy contributes to ensuring long-term energy supply when the oil, natural gas and coal sources have been used up.

The graph shows Denmark’s leading position in Europe in relation to integrating wind power (in percentage terms) into the power system at the end of 2007 (source: EWEA).

It will take great political, economic and technological effort to develop our ‘traditional’ electricity and gas systems to be able to support new forms of renewable energy. The challenge of integrating wind power into the power system, for example, is to ensure supply as production from wind turbines fluctuates with the weather.

Energinet.dk administers several Danish energy research programmes - ForskEL, ForskVE, ForskNG and ForskIN – which support research and development in the production and transmission of the growing amount of renewable energy in the electricity and gas systems.

You can read more about the research programmes here.