On Wednesday morning, Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard is in consultation, where he will explain when he became aware of a number of delays and increases in the cost of Energinet's construction projects, why he did not inform the Folketing, and not least why the ministry believed that an already written press release about the delays should not be sent out.
The consultation is therefore less about what consequences the delays are expected to have for the green transition.
Last year, Energinet postponed a total of 98 of 178 planned expansions of the electricity grid, which were supposed to help create the framework for new solar and wind energy in municipalities, among others.
In front of Finans, Energinet's Chief Operating Officer Søren Dupont Kristensen acknowledged that Energinet has thus become a bottleneck in the green transition.
- When we have promised a time for grid connection and then subsequently come up with a delay, it is extremely unsatisfactory for those who build the projects, says Søren Dupont Kristensen to Finans.
On average, the projects have been postponed by 1.3 years. But according to Brian Vad Mathiesen, professor of energy planning at Aalborg University, it is rather surprising that the projects are not more delayed.
- No one in the industry is surprised that we are seeing these delays. There is a high demand for many components across Europe and a lot of pressure on the expansion, so I would almost have expected larger delays, he says.
At the same time, he assesses that the consequences for the green transition overall are limited and can be overlooked.
- It is clear that the 1.3 year delay is an average, and you can therefore face larger delays locally, but overall I do not believe that these delays will necessarily have consequences for the green transition, he says.
Calls for realistic and strategic planning
Earlier this year, the government abandoned the goal of doubling the production of renewable energy from land by 2030, which had previously been the ambition.
This was to be achieved, among other things, by doubling the amount of wind energy and tenfolding production from solar, but the planning of solar cell plants in particular has been excessive, Brian Vad Mathiesen believes.
- Instead of just setting up a lot of plants, we should build renewable energy as consumption arises, he says and adds:
- If we look at the projects that are not coming to fruition today, it is probably more because the market is becoming saturated than because it is due to delays at Energinet. We already have 65 percent of our electricity from wind turbines and solar cells, says Brian Vad Mathiesen.
Last autumn, Jyllands-Posten made a summary that showed that Danish municipalities had approved plans for more than 50 new solar cell parks in the coming years. But even if Denmark was in the midst of extreme electrification, demand would have been difficult to keep up with, Brian Vad Mathiesen estimates.
- The problem with the goal of quadrupling renewable energy has been that it has been a completely unrealistic goal that has been political and has not been driven by the market, he says.
That is why Brian Vad Mathiesen points out that the municipalities, despite delays and bottleneck challenges, must ensure long-term and strategic planning.
- The municipalities must no longer just look towards 2030, but towards both 2040 and 2045. This requires strategic planning so that the municipalities are ready to follow developments in the market.
The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities assesses in a statement that the delays will not affect the climate goal.
The Danish National Audit Office investigates Energinet
The Danish National Audit Office announced on Tuesday that it is now investigating Energinet's expansion of the electricity grid.
The purpose of the investigation is to assess whether Energinet has ensured satisfactory management of the expansion of the electricity grid, and whether the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities has satisfactory supervision of this, Rigsrevisionen writes on its website.
"Energinet's expansion of the electricity grid is an important prerequisite for the green transition - and a major investment, which is ultimately paid for by citizens and businesses," it continues.
"It is therefore important that Energinet has good management of progress and costs. It is also important that the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities ensures that the progress of the expansion of the electricity grid supports the political goals in the climate area."
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