UPDATED: After the Danish authorities suspended the so-called open door scheme for offshore wind turbine projects in February, the Danish Energy Agency announced on Monday that four of the projects will resume their case processing.
These are the projects Jammerland Bugt Offshore Wind Farm, Lillebælt Syd Offshore Wind Farm, Omø Syd Offshore Wind Farm and Nordre Flint Offshore Wind Farm.
A calculation from the Danish Energy Agency has previously estimated that the four projects can potentially generate between 520 and 760 MW. Denmark currently has a capacity of 2,300 MW. Previously, two other projects have also had their case processing resumed.
Doubts about illegal state aid
The scheme was suspended in February. According to the Danish authorities, doubts have arisen as to whether the scheme is in breach of EU rules on state aid. But there is no longer any doubt about the four projects that were given the green light again on Monday, the Danish Energy Agency said in a press release.
When the Danish authorities pulled the handbrake in February, it meant that 33 projects were put on hold. The two that were previously restarted were projects for which an establishment permit had already been granted.
The four projects that started up again on Monday differ from the remaining 27 projects that were put on hold in that they had already been granted a feasibility study permit several years ago.
The open door scheme - subsidy-free offshore wind - is a model where companies can apply to be allocated offshore areas without payment. In return, they must cover all costs for the development and construction of the project themselves.
Hope for the remaining projects to be reopened soon
The Danish energy industry was shocked when the authorities put the open door scheme on hold. Therefore, the resumption of the four new projects is welcomed with joy by, among others, the Deputy Director of the Confederation of Danish Industries, Troels Ranis:
- It is, among other things, the Omø Syd project that is currently keeping things running. The project has been underway for over ten years, and now we can hopefully soon start to see the results to the delight of the local community, where approximately 350,000 houses can look forward to having green electricity in their sockets, says Troels Ranis.
However, the industry organization Green Power Denmark is still impatient to restart the 27 remaining projects. There are many other things that have to wait for them to get started again, according to CEO Kristian Jensen:
- 27 projects are still waiting outside the door. They have been there for over a month. The companies are otherwise ready to establish lots of offshore wind so that consumers can get cheap, green electricity, and Denmark can get started in the production of green fuels for aircraft and ships, he says.
/ritzau/
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