Dan Jørgensen wants Denmark to have more than 12 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 (source: Danish Gov)
Denmark’s Ministry of Energy, Climate & Utilities has confirmed it is offering developers the opportunity to develop another 4 GW of offshore wind, in addition to already significant increases in capacity announced in recent months
The 4 GW is in addition to an extra 2 GW of offshore wind announced in December 2021 that was the subject of an agreement between the Danish Government and other political parties in the country.
That 2 GW came on top of an already ambitious expansion plan for offshore wind by 2030 with the establishment of the Thor and Hesselø offshore windfarms, along with plans to build energy islands in the North Sea and Baltic.
Decisions have already been made to expand Danish offshore wind from the current level of 2.3 GW to 8.9 GW by 2030. The new plan means Denmark will have 12.9 GW of offshore wind by 2030.
The announcement about more new capacity comes after a political majority in Denmark reached agreement on a power-to-X target of 4-6 GW by the end of the decade, a decision that will require much more offshore wind capacity to provide the green power required.
At the time the power-to-X target was announced in March 2022, Dansk Energi estimated an additional 4-6 GW of electrolyser capacity would require an additional 8 GW of new offshore wind capacity.
In May 2022, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark pledged to jointly build at least 150 GW of offshore wind in the North Sea by 2050 and as much as 65 GW by 2030. At that time, the Danish Government said it would examine the feasibility of building an additional 1-4 GW by 2030.
In an interview with Danish newspaper Finans, Climate Minister Dan Jørgensen said he wants the extra capacity operational by 2030 and intends to offer 4 GW for development provided that capacity does not require state aid.
Since April 2022, the Danish Energy Agency has received applications for 15 new offshore wind projects. Applications have been received for several different areas, including Aalbæk Bay, Esbjerg, Falster, Gjerrild Bay, Hanstholm Harbour, Hirtshals Harbour, Lolland South, Stevns and Tønder.
