- The Danish energy system is facing a paradigm shift. Our energy system is about to be re-aligned and re-thought to allow large amounts of renewable energy to be integrated efficiently and allow us to use the renewable energy where it is most valuable, says Peder Ø. Andreasen, President and CEO of Energinet.dk.
- We must develop energy systems where coal, oil and gas are no longer the fundamental elements. The power system will be the pivot for the major changes because, today, wind power is Denmark’s most important source of renewable energy for electricity generation. Together with biomass, wind power will account for the major part of the renewable energy expansion - an expansion which is a precondition for Denmark being able to meet the goal of a 30 per cent share of renewable energy in 2020, says Peder Ø. Andreasen.
- It is imperative that we radically increase the share of wind power in our power system, that we use wind power intelligently in the heat and transport sector, and that we increase the use of biogas significantly.
In concrete terms, the re-alignment of the energy system requires focus on solutions based on:
- A robust power grid, including strong interconnections, to allow the large amounts of wind power to be transmitted to where it can be consumed and where it is most valuable.
- Optimum interaction between the energy systems to allow the significantly increasing amounts of wind power to displace coal, oil and gas for transport and heat, for instance by means of electric vehicles, heat pumps and electric boilers.
- An intelligent power grid (SmartGrid), ie intelligent control and communication on the generation side as well as the demand side to ensure that wind power is used efficiently.
Moreover, the potential for biogas production is to be used in the natural gas system, for instance by investigating the possibilities of transporting and trading biogas via the natural gas system.
- Denmark is in a unique position to participate in the development of new energy technologies and at the same time facilitate a global market for such technologies. In other words, we must create Danish solutions to global problems, says Peder Ø. Andreasen.
The solutions to meeting the climate and energy policy goals, including the integration of wind power into the power system and biogas into the natural gas system, are described in Energinet.dk’s System Plan 2009.
Further information:
Peder Ø. Andreasen, President and CEO of Energinet.dk, tel.: +45 70 22 41 50.