Denmark's sustainable energy future

Abstract

Before its North Sea oil and gas fields were developed, Denmark relied almost entirely on oil imports for its energy needs. The 1970s oil supply crises revealed that, in meeting its increasing energy needs, Denmark had relied too heavily on imported oil. Energy supply security had become precarious and comprehensive government action was seen to be required. The first Danish national energy policy was aimed at improving supply security and reducing dependence on imported oil. Succeeding national energy policies have been aimed at using all energy efficiently and at securing diverse and sustainable energy supplies. This paper aims to explain the policy and technical measures introduced by the Danish government since the mid-1970s. These have included the expansion of district heating to make use of the waste heat from power stations and other sources, the exploitation of Denmark’s North Sea oil and gas resources, and the development of renewable energy resources and energy efficiency technologies of many kinds. As a result, Denmark now plans by 2030 to reduce present energy consumption by about 15%. The energy mix is then planned to comprise oil, natural gas and renewable energy in equal parts. Many Danish energy-saving technologies are well understood in the UK and need little explanation in this paper. However, Denmark’s development of more efficient and cheaper district heating systems in particular deserves to be more widely understood in the UK.