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The Øresund Bridge: en route to becoming the world’s most sustainable

With a large investment in solar energy, The Øresund Bridge, connecting Denmark and Sweden, has taken the next step in an ambitious plan to become the world's most sustainable bridge.

As one of the most central infrastructures in Scandinavia, The Øresund Bridge, connecting Denmark and Sweden, has revealed the next step in an ambitious plan on becoming the world’s most sustainable bridge.

Having already installed 3,000 m2 of solar panels by the foot of the bridge, the plan is to add an additional 10,000 m2, which will produce enough power through solar energy to cover nearly half of the bridge’s energy consumption by 2023. The solar panels will be placed on Peberholm, an artificial island in the Danish part of the Øresund strait, created as part of the Øresund Bridge connecting the two countries.

The world’s most sustainable bridge

While the aim is ambitious, the goal of becoming the world’s most sustainable bridge isn’t far off. Maintenance and operation of the bridge are already climate positive, with vegetation and biodiversity surrounding the bridge capturing around 500 tons of CO2 every year. This is more than the 350 tonnes of CO2 that the bridge emitted in 2021, which has been reduced by 40% in the last couple of years.

With the addition of further solar panels on Peberholm, the facility is expected to produce 2.5 GWh of energy per year through solar energy.

Since 2020, all trains crossing the Øresund Bridge have been powered by greener electricity, also from wind power. The CO2 emissions from the train traffic on the connection have fallen by approx. 70% compared to the electricity consumption that was previously found on the railway. Emissions have been reduced from just over 500 to 150 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Last year, the Øresund connection consumed approx. 6.1 GWh of electrical energy, which is less than half of the 12.7 GWh consumed by the bridge in its first full year.

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