Last week, the government launched its proposal "Fair. Reasonable. Flexible.", which aimed to accelerate the expansion of renewable energy on land by, among other things, increasing compensation for affected neighbors and providing more flexible frameworks for where wind turbines and solar power plants can be set up.
The intention of the new proposal is praised by the seven mayors in the Business Region MidtVest, who represent a number of the largest energy municipalities, but the mayors also point to a number of key questions that remain unanswered.
- It is positive that the government now recognizes that the current compensation is not sufficient and that more is needed if we are to ensure local support for the expansion of renewable energy and access to more green electricity. But in the overall proposal, we lack a clearer recognition of the role of the municipalities, because it is we who must plan and approve the projects if the goals are to become a reality, says Dorte West (V), chairman of Business Region MidtVest and mayor of Herning Municipality.
Business Region MidtVest also points out, like a number of industry organizations, that the financing of the green transition cannot be placed solely on the developers, who pay the RE bonus.
- It does not make sense to impose a greater financial burden on the developers - it is largely a national responsibility, because while the burdens are borne locally, it is a common, national necessity and ambition to ensure more green electricity, says Erik Flyvholm (V), mayor of Lemvig Municipality.
Desire for greater contributions to municipalities
The Business Region MidtVest also reiterates its desire to introduce a green development contribution, where municipalities receive four øre for every kilowatt-hour of green electricity produced locally, which by 2023 would have given over half a billion kroner to the country's municipalities - of which around 150 million kroner to the seven municipalities in the Business Region MidtVest.
- We call it exchanging wind turbines for welfare. The money can be used for everything from more case managers and faster approvals to investments in schools, elderly care, nature and local infrastructure. This is how we create real local benefits from green power, says Dorte West.
With this model, Thyborønmøllen, which is owned by 2,800 local cooperative members in collaboration with Thyborøn Havn and Vestas and which has just won the KL Climate Prize 2025, would alone give 3.2 million kroner a year to Lemvig Municipality – enough to finance eight full-time positions as social and health workers or seven full-time positions as a pedagogue.
- It is a concrete picture of how green energy can be translated directly into better welfare if we get a national model that shares the gains with the local communities that add land. And with all due respect, it is small money for the state coffers, but has enormous significance for the individual municipality, emphasizes Erik Flyvholm.
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