In Denmark, by 2030 all electricity produced will be 100 per cent renewable, while by 2050 the country will be completely energy independent. These are goals that the Danish Parliament voted for across party lines, overcoming all political divisions, with a step-by-step roadmap drawn up for their achievement.

Achieving energy independence in 30 years

Three decades to reach full energy independence. On 29 June, every party represented in Parliament signed up to a commitment to phase out coal entirely from electricity production and all fossil fuels from the energy mix. To meet these goals, members of parliament set two key milestones: by 2030, Denmark will become a country with 100 per cent clean electricity, and by 2050, all energy must come from renewable sources. In roughly 30 years, electricity, heating and cooling in Denmark will be generated from renewables, while transport will be powered solely by fuels of renewable origin.

A mix of clean technologies to achieve the goal

Implementing a programme to become completely independent of fossil fuels for electricity generation required the Danish Parliament to make a substantial planning effort. The planned measures involve a range of renewable technologies, from offshore and onshore wind to solar photovoltaic, from biogas to measures to increase energy efficiency in industry and construction, as well as others aimed at making mobility and transport greener. The measures adopted in detail:

• 3 offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 2,400 megawatts
• renewable energy auctions worth 564 million euros, in which different clean technologies will compete to deliver the most cost-effective kilowatt-hour
• an allocation of 537 million euros to increase biogas production
• the implementation of energy saving and efficiency measures in the industrial sector worth 40 million euros, and in the construction sector a further 27 million
• 67 million euros of investment over the period 2020–2024 to develop electric mobility and a sustainable transport system
• measures to ease the tax burden on electricity and heating, with an investment of 268 million euros.

Denmark invests in research and development

Among all the initiatives agreed upon by the Danish Parliament, the one considered most ambitious concerns the construction of three wind farms with a combined capacity of 2,400 megawatts of wind energy.

Equally ambitious is another chapter of the Danish programme: research. The energy transition that Denmark is planning will be built on research and development, the engine of innovation in renewable technologies. The country will allocate 134 million euros by 2024, to be used for research and development on energy and climate. It is a wide-ranging and substantial programme that will come at a reasonable cost: "the green transition must improve the financial wellbeing of citizens and strengthen the sustainability of society as a whole," stressed Denmark's Finance Minister, the liberal Kristian Jensen.

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