The Danish Government has initiated work to find potential locations for one or more ‘energy islands’ that would provide at least 10 GW of offshore wind capacity
The Danish Energy Ministry said energy islands of this size and capacity would correspond to 10 large offshore windfarms. Dkr65M (US$9.65) has been allocated to the study. The ministry said the total investment needed to bring such projects to fruition is approximately Dkr200/300Bn (US$30-45Bn).
The country’s energy minister Dan Jørgensen said, “It’s a huge project. We need to build more than five times as much capacity we have today. We need to have a sensible and ambitious plan for the development of offshore wind.”
The ministry said the vast majority of investment needed for the energy islands would need to come from the private sector but the state would help finance the development of technology that can contribute to the efficient use of the huge amount of electricity an energy island will be able to produce.
“Offshore wind is a key element of the green transition. If we really want to realise its enormous potential, we have to develop the technology needed to convert green power into fuel for ships and other industries,” the minister said.
The ministry said the studies will need to confirm that energy islands of this size would be practical from an environmental and planning perspective and that they could be financed.
“Screening potential locations is the first step,” said the ministry. “A large number of other analyses will also need to be done before a final decision can be made. In-depth technical studies on the potential of energy islands are starting and dialogue is being initiated on co-operation with other North Sea countries."
Areas in the Kattegat, Baltic and North Sea are being examined as potential options.
The energy islands would act as hubs for electricity generation from surrounding offshore windfarms that could be connected to other countries in the North Seas region. The ministry said the studies would also address the need for energy storage and concepts such as power to gas that could see electricity from offshore wind used to make green hydrogen.
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