- If you have come here by train, then you have definitely come through Hvidovre, says the mayor of the suburban town Anders Wolf Andresen (S) first, before he dives into the topic in the debate on the red stage at the Climate People's Meeting 2024 in Middelfart under the title: Energy Communities Denmark.
In Hvidovre, there are ambitions on behalf of the climate, which there is actually a plan and vision to make it succeed.
- We have a goal of being climate neutral by 2045. If you look at Google Maps over Hvidovre, you will see that we have large commercial areas, and a third of our energy consumption is the commercial area, says the mayor and elaborates on the plan:
- Therefore, we have a huge need to expand local electricity production from solar and wind. When you look at the map of Avedøre Holme, there are every opportunity to install solar cells and wind turbines. But they are not allowed to share the energy, and something needs to be done about that.
Although the potential is already great on the roofs of companies, he sees an opportunity for even more solar cells in an unconventional location.
- If the roofs of companies are not enough, let's cover the highway, which is about to be expanded to ten lanes, he says.
Security of supply for companies
The war in Ukraine is haunting the scenes, and although security of supply is high in Denmark, people are thinking in worst-case scenarios. This is also the case in Hvidovre, and Anders Wolf Andresen sees an advantage in being self-sufficient.
- A large business area that is self-sufficient will also increase security of supply if something were to happen to the electricity grid. And it would also ensure that we do not burden the electricity grid, concludes the Hvidovre mayor.
One of the local business leaders has taken the road from Hvidovre to Middelfart together with the mayor, and the director is very excited about it.
- We can become self-sufficient with four wind turbines and solar cells on 75 percent of the roof surfaces in the energy community. It will only be 20 percent of the time that we need power from the grid. It will also help relieve the load on the electricity grid, confirms the director of KLS Pureprint, Kasper Larsen.
And it is not only small and medium-sized companies that will benefit from such an energy community.
- All companies, even the largest, will get something out of it. The challenge is that there is an EU law that allows small companies to form energy communities. But there is no EU law that allows large companies to do so, and this must be resolved, says Kasper Larsen.
Director of electricity company: Denmark has high security of supply
The director of the utility company Trefor from the Triangle area has a slightly different view of the term energy community.
- Energy communities are exactly the right thing. We already have a good energy community in Denmark, and that was also the case during the energy crisis. Security of supply works in Denmark, and there have only been two outages since 2003 in Denmark. It was for six hours on Zealand and then once in North Jutland, says Trefor's director Charles Nielsen.
If smaller local energy communities are to emerge that also supply to the electricity grid, one thing is very clear to the director.
- With small energy communities, you add some islands. And if they want to be part of the electricity grid, they also have to pay to be part of the electricity grid, in addition to requiring some technology. It's a really nice energy community that we already have, says Charles Nielsen.
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