The Danish energy company European Energy opened the doors to the company's second solar park in Australia on Monday. And the timing has been carefully planned. The Danish royal couple are currently on a state visit to the Queen's birthplace. A visit that will focus on the green transition, among other things.
- We think the state visit is a great opportunity to celebrate the success of putting the solar park into operation, says Thorvald Spanggaard, head of marketing and project development at European Energy.
The solar park is located in Lancaster in the South Australian state of Victoria. The park is the energy company's second solar park in Australia and has a capacity of 106 MW. That's enough energy to supply 35,000 households with electricity at the same time.
Renewable energy currently covers 10 percent of the total energy needs in Australia, while it covers 45 percent of Danish energy needs.
Over the next few decades, Australia is facing a major green transition. The Australian government has set a statutory target to be climate neutral by 2050.
Despite similarities with Denmark, the process is different
It was during the corona pandemic that European Energy decided to explore the possibility of building green energy projects such as solar energy and wind energy in Australia. Behind that decision was, among other things, easy access to natural resources that can be exchanged for green energy, explains Spanggaard.
- Australia is a macroeconomically and geopolitically stable country, which is culturally very similar to ours, where it is easy to do business. At the same time, it has good natural resources in the form of sun and wind. It also has an energy-intensive industry, and this provides good opportunities for building green energy, he says.
Although Australia resembles Denmark in many ways, there has been a significant difference both in the process of building the solar park and in the inauguration on Monday. The park has been built in an area that traditionally belongs to the Yorta Yorta people, who are one of the indigenous peoples of Australia.
- As one of the first things we did, we reached out to the Yorta Yorta people to enter into an agreement with them in relation to sharing the benefits of building such a park. In return, we have a strong collaboration with strong support, he says.
Representatives from the Yorta Yorta people also participated in Monday's opening of the solar park. Here, they blessed the park at a tuxedo ceremony, where local plants were burned. The ceremony is often used at official events to welcome guests to traditional land.
The Danish state visit to Australia will last six days until Thursday, March 19. More than 50 Danish companies will join them during the visit, which will include a business promotion focusing on renewable energy and green construction.
/ritzau/
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