2013 A Year of Record Highs for Danish Wind Energy

4 February 2014

The share of wind power in the Danish electricity grid reached roughly a third of the total Danish electricity consumption in 2013 (33,2%).

This marks an increase of 3,12 percentage points, which is the second-largest ever recorded in Denmark, only surpassed by a 6,27 percentage point increase in 2011.

Measured in terms of megawatt, 2013 surpassed all previous years with a net increase of 609 MW, excluding older dismantled turbines, bringing the total Danish wind capacity to 4,772 MW at year end:

“2013 was a really good year for wind expansion in Denmark with one of the world’s largest offshore wind parks but also a number of land-based projects implemented. The expansion brings us one step closer to the Danish 2020 ambition of 50% wind energy in the electricity grid” says Jan Hylleberg, CEO of the Danish Wind Industry Foundation.

With 349 MW expansion of offshore wind set a new record in 2013 and onshore wind also largely followed suit – only to be surpassed in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality accounts for half of newly installed wind capacity

The large expansion of onshore wind in 2013 was to a great extent carried by two big wind projects in Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality (Sønder Åen – Tim: 30 MW and Nørhede-Hjortmose: 72,6 MW).

With a total of 142 MW (gross) new capacity across 39 wind turbines, the municipality of Ringkøbing-Skjern accounted for nearly half of the 307 MW (gross) new wind capacity in Denmark in 2013. According the mayor of the municipality, the reason for the great expansion can be found in an ambitious energy plan for the municipality, purposed to make it self-supplying with renewable energy:

“In 2009 we made an energy plan that mapped out the municipality and the possibilities for erecting wind turbines. So there have been some active visionaries, which have made the necessary investments, most recently the 22 turbines at Nørhede-Hjortmose. We have also had local municipal debates about wind turbines and the political position has been that it is natural that we erect turbines when we have the area space available, and at the same time there has been many economic and employment-related interests linked to putting up wind turbines”, says Iver Enevoldsen, Mayor of Ringkøbing-Sjkern

2013 wind expansion

Expansion in 2013: Offshore (349,20 MW), Onshore (307,4 MW), Deregistered (46,9 MW - only onshore).

Source: Danish Wind Industry Association

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