Denmark counts on wind energy for future needs
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Denmark, a world leader in wind energy production and consumption, has built the world’s largest off-shore wind park in the North Sea. They aim to produce “at least” 75% of their total electricity needs from wind power by 2025.
Located at Horn’s Reef wind farm in the port of Esbjerg, the huge turbines, 80 in number, rotate high in the sky. The facility is expected to produce 160 megawatts of electricity - that’s enough power for 150,000 homes for one year.
Horn’s Reef is the 11th entrant to the collection of wind farms built since 1991. Their off-shore wind power now stand at 398 MW, which is an 12% of the total of 3,100 MW produced by them in 2006.
Denmark is part of the trio of European wind power pioneers, along with Spain and Germany. There is a growing trend in Europe to depend on unconventional sources of energy, mainly because indigenous fossil fuels are running out, and fuel prices are rising.
According to European Wind Energy Agency, wind power accounted for 3.3% of Europe’s power production in 2006. Germany has the largest capacity among them, with an estimated 20,000 MW of installed capacity. Spain trails behind at 11,615 MW.
We aim to make Denmark independent of oil, gas and coal, and depend only on clean fuels.
They may very well pull it off - massive expansion plans are in the offing for Denmark. Horn’s Reef 2, successor of the newly-installed Horn’s Reef, is planned, along with 22 other off-shore parks.
The country has 5,200 wind turbines at present. It is estimated to grow by 50-75% by 2025, according to a government survey.
Denmark hosts the UN Climate Summit 2009, and wants to lead the fight against global warming.
An aside, Denmark is one of the world’s biggest per capita polluters of carbon dioxide.
