The energy deal contains a wide range of ambitious green initiatives and a relaxation of electricity taxes, which will help Danish consumers replace fossil fuels with green electricity. Similarly, by modernizing the heat sector, businesses and consumers will benefit from more advantageous heat. With this agreement, Denmark is on track to meet the government`s goal of transforming Denmark into a low-carbon, fossil-fuel-independent society by 2050. The agreement will allow renewables to fully cover Danish electricity consumption by 2030. At the same time, the resources allocated to Denmark will cover 55% of its total energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2030. Finally, the agreement ensures that Denmark meets its commitments with regard to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The main elements of the agreement are the commitment to build three major new offshore wind farms, new funds for wind and onshore solar energy, targeted efforts to achieve energy savings and a targeted strengthening of energy and climate research. This energy agreement will launch a tender for three new offshore wind farms by 2030. The first wind farm will consist of 800 MW and will be the largest of its kind in Denmark once completed. It will be built between 2024 and 2027. Efforts to achieve energy savings will largely focus on better value for money and criticism of the existing system. Energy and climate research is receiving an injection of funds with the aim of allocating DKK 1 billion in 2014. At the same time, there will be a clear relaxation and restructuring of energy taxes, as well as a reorganization of excess heat.

Investments in renewable energy are followed by energy-saving measures of 7% by 2020 compared to 2010 (Figure 3). This will involve a 100% increase in the current savings requirements for energy companies and the development of a coherent strategy for the energy renovation of all Danish buildings. The future use of land wind in Denmark will be supported by auctions. The government plans to reduce the number of wind turbines from 4300 to 1850. This means that in Denmark, the land wind is becoming a repowering market where old turbines are replaced by state-of-the-art models. While details of how to do this are still lacking, it is clear that in 2030, wind power generation will be more important than it is today. Last Friday, the Danish government and Parliament joined forces for a new long-term energy policy for 2030. Increasing the share of biomass in the energy mix is another cornerstone of the agreement. This will be done mainly through laws against new oil-powered boilers and financial support for municipalities, energy companies and households that want to switch from fossil fuels to bioenergy.

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