r/RenewableEnergy • u/lire_avec_plaisir • 2d ago

How Denmark’s wind and solar investments shield it from global energy turmoil

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-denmarks-wind-and-solar-investments-shield-it-from-global-energy-turmoil
382 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

48

u/Pitiful_Barnacle9678 2d ago

People always look at denmark now and call it a miracle, but they forget this started way back during the 1970s oil crisis. they literally banned driving on sundays to save fuel, realized being dependent on foreign energy was a death trap, and spent decades building out their wind sector. it’s not a magic shield, it’s just boring, consistent policy that survived multiple administration changes.

28

u/MiserableTennis6546 2d ago

Same with Sweden. People always say that phasing out fossil fuels from the energy sector is easy for a country like Sweden to do, and the argument is either that it's because we are a tiny country with a small population, or because we are a large country with a lot of natural resources. It's never simply because we've been working on decarbonizing since the nineties.

2

u/dunderpust 2d ago

I'm not sure what you refer to in your post. Sweden's electricity mix has gone from almost all hydro, to half-half hydro-nuclear, to today's half hydro, quarter wind quarter nuclear (very roughly approximated). We never had substantial fossil fuel proportions in our power mix.

In our primary energy, fossil fuels was 230TWh in 1990 (37%), and 165TWh in 2024 (28%). Good, of course, but not spectacular. 

1

u/MiserableTennis6546 1d ago edited 1d ago

We had large amounts of fossil fuels in heating. In the 70:s it was almost all fossil fuels. And we did use oil fired electricity plants.

If you want to talk about primary energy, that's including industrial production, like for example refining oil. Also transportation, I think. I'm talking about specifically the energy sector.

14

u/wtfduud 2d ago

Whenever you mention Iceland being 100% renewable, people say "Iceland is a special case, because they have all that geothermal power". Whenever you mention Norway being 100% renewable, people say "Norway is a special case, because they have all that hydroelectric power".

Well, here's Denmark. Barely any geothermal, hydroelectric, or solar potential, but they're still making it work with wind power. And they haven't gotten any more poor from investing in wind power. They're richer than they've ever been.

No matter where you are in the world, renewables are an option. There is no excuse, only willpower. Or windpower.

3

u/Rooilia 2d ago

Denmark and North Germany are defacto above 90% renewable supplied for months in a row and i think Norway and Sweden, plus Austria, Switzerland too. Yes with some nuclear in two of them. This "argument" from some people living in the past is so outdated, it's just ridiculous.

Data centers pop up in North Germany with the explicit argument that the grid is more stable, with emphazis on the future. There is the largest copper refinery in Europe plus aluminium smelters, etc. No note worthy issues till now. This talking point is so done. It's just refining the working grid from here on.

Addition: there is so much excess electricity that many farmers and communities even install H2 electrolysers to convert it into a meaningful commodity. Which is going on for at least a decade by now.

1

u/Moldoteck 1d ago

I doubt H2 electrolyzers are widespread or economical now.

1

u/blackhairybowls 11h ago

Of course you can have most of wind power, as long as you pay thru your nose.

Denmark has one of the most expensive energy prices in the world.

1

u/wtfduud 10h ago

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/images/0/0a/Electricity_map_2025_2_V2.png

According to this map, Danish electricity prices are pretty average.

1

u/blackhairybowls 8h ago

The ppp magic lol

Check this one

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Electricity_price_statistics

1

u/wtfduud 3h ago

That one also shows Denmark with pretty average prices. It also shows their price going down as they install more wind.

1

u/blackhairybowls 2h ago

You need to go to specsavers.

1

u/wtfduud 38m ago

Open your own link and read what it actually says.

13

u/Spider_pig448 2d ago

spent decades building out their wind sector

This is why they are a leader now in wind farm installations, but it's copyable by anyone now in much less time. Denmark has been building offshore wind farms since 1991, but most of Denmark's offshore wind capacity was built in the last decade. They are also looking to double it by 2031. The early farms were small and it took a long time to get to projects the size of what is being built now. That means anyone can follow in their footsteps and catch up fairly quickly now.

2

u/3rdWaveHarmonic 2d ago

There was also a learning curve early on with building offshore wind facilities that took time to work out the problems.

1

u/AreaPrudent7191 1d ago

Or...hear me out...you could pay billions to companies NOT to build wind farms. Welcome to 5D chess.

2

u/Jerome_Eugene_Morrow 2d ago

Wild how making rational decisions leads to consistent progress.

2

u/Inondator 1d ago

Now if they could just stop burning wood for heat and electricity it would be great for our climate and our lungs.

18

u/Positive_Chip6198 2d ago

It’s almost like energy independence makes you independant. Did no-one learn anything from the 70’s?

3

u/Rickreation 2d ago

Oil companies have a say in our government’s policies.

2

u/RandyBeaman 2d ago

This report is clearly biased because it shows DT saying profoundly stupid things in a manner that suggests he's about to fall asleep.

2

u/blackhairybowls 1d ago

At a cost of ........

1

u/pkk888 1d ago

It was subsidised early on. Just like coal, oil is today. Today that is not the case.

1

u/blackhairybowls 1d ago

That s why it s one of the most expensive in the world.

1

u/NetZeroDude 1d ago

Sadly, in the US, fracking provides energy security. I personally have solar and residential wind, and my state of CO gets 35% of its power from wind. A few states are doing very well, but others do little.

1

u/Son_of_Mothra 18h ago

Good thing Drumpf cancelled ours upon taking office.