SCIENCE

Denmark's Wind Energy Output Just Exceeded National Demand

MADDIE STONEYESTERDAY 11:00 PM

When it comes to renewable energy, Denmark is officially kicking arse. Yesterday, Denmark’s wind farms produced 116 per cent of national electricity demands, allowing the country to export power to Norway, Germany and Sweden. According to The Guardian, that figure had risen to 140 per cent by early Friday morning.

“It shows that a world powered 100 per cent by renewable energy is no fantasy,” the European Wind Energy Association’s Oliver Joy told The Guardian. “Wind energy and renewables can be a solution to decarbonization — and also security of supply at times of high demand.”

Denmark has long been a global leader in renewable energy. With almost unanimous political consensus, the 5.6 million-strong Danish population has in recent years pushed aggressively for the installation of new wind farms across the country, with the goal of producing half of its electricity via renewable sources by 2020. And in 2014, Denmark announced to the world that it aimed to end burning fossil fuels entirely — not just for electricity, but for transportation — by 2050.

This week’s wind energy milestone places what sounded to be a very audacious set of goals within reach for the small Nordic nation. The latest wind energy figures can be found on the Danish transmission systems operator website energinet.dk. The site, The Guardian notes, showed that Danish wind farms weren’t even operating at their full 4.8GW capacity at the time of the recent peaks.

Keep on truckin’ Denmark. You’re giving the rest of us hope.

[The Guardian]

Picture: Tumbling Run / Flickr