Off the Nissum Fjord on the west coast of Jutland, a huge offshore wind farm is to be built, in fact Denmark's largest, and the Danish Energy Agency has now given permission to begin work on erecting the turbines. The farm should be able to provide enough electricity to cover the consumption of one million households.
It has been a long time in the making. Preliminary studies and environmental reports have been made, but now the starting signal has been sounded, and that excites Brian Vad Mathiesen, who is a professor of energy planning at Aalborg University. It is a good day for the green transition and Danish and European competitiveness, he believes.
- This is hugely positive news. We will have this very large wind farm in operation and thus increase green electricity in the Danish and, in fact, also the European electricity system.
The German energy company RWE won the tender for the farm in 2021. More specifically, the farm will have 72 wind turbines, and they will have a total capacity of one GW. In comparison, Denmark currently has 17 offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 2.7 GW.
The Thor Offshore Wind Farm is due to be completed in 2027. It is called Thor because it is located close to Thorsminde, the nearest land mark in the area.
Happy Minister
The seabed conditions off West Jutland, where the farm will be located, are advantageous, says Brian Vad Mathiesen. The farm will mean almost 50 percent more offshore wind turbine power in our electricity system, he says.
- This significantly increases the share of renewable energy in our electricity mix, so those who have decided to buy an electric car and those who are connected to district heating systems with heat pumps can be happy to charge more cheaply and get cheaper heat from the pump, says the professor.
There is also money on the way for the state. According to the Danish Energy Agency, the state will receive payment of up to 2.8 billion DKK, as electricity is produced. Minister for Climate, Energy and Supply Lars Aagaard (M) does not hide his joy.
- Important milestone for the expansion of Danish offshore wind. Congratulations to RWE and the approximately one million Danish homes that, when the park is completed, can get more green electricity in the socket, the minister writes on the social media X.
"A nice step"
Jacob Østergaard, who as a professor at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) deals with wind and energy systems, calls it "a nice step". But he also urges not to rest on our laurels.
- We have a large tender underway, which is the next step after Thor. But it is an important step to get this park established. However, that does not mean that we have reached our goal. If Europe is to live up to the green ambitions of converting our energy systems to become fossil-free, we must make much more use of the sea areas in Europe, especially in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, where there are good wind conditions.
He also adds that there are nuances to the picture when talking about covering the electricity consumption of one million households.
- Now it is not only households that use electricity, so you can't just multiply by six and say that covers the energy consumption of the Danes. Industry, agriculture and so on are not part of the calculation.
It was in 2019 that a political decision was made by all parties in the Danish Parliament to build three new offshore wind farms towards 2030. Thor is one of them. At that time, it was the then Minister of Energy, Utilities and Climate, Lars Christian Lilleholt (V), who was able to present the upcoming park and promised both local growth and green transition.
- It is a really big day as a minister at the head of the project. It is a day that I will remember, said a proud minister at the time.
/ritzau/
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