The Wind in your Danes
For renewable energy and especially wind-based power usage, Denmark comes first. A year ago, 61.4% of her energy was created from the wind, compared to only 18.8% a decade ago. Naturally, nations who live by the wind also profit from it so manufacturers have gained too. Vestas and Siemens particularly stand out as leading international producers of turbines and the rest of the apparatus used in the industry. 90% of ALL offshore turbines are stamped, Made in Denmark.
With Copenhagen as European Green Capital last year, the amount of power saved by cyclists could probably add to the energy of wind in the country's green example to the world. The EU news source, Euractiv, and the Ritzau news agency report the world record as incredible figures
according to the proud Minister responsible, Rasmus Helveg Petersen. He intends to meet more targets yet in improving the total renewable energy targets by 2020. Emissions targets too are in his sights. The price coming down, just like our current oil crisis, could prove to have a negative effect. Deflation of this kind could take the wind out of their sails, but the Danes intend to stabilise the market.
Electrification of transport systems and house heat sources (replacing expensive gas) would dispose of all wind energy production so displacing any worries about deflation. Nearby, in the UK, they are repeating the Danish trick by creating 9.3% of their vast energy needs from wind (and lots from solar), with an encouraging 15% increase every year. I make that less than the Dane's achievement over a 10-year period, but the UK has more solar power to contribute to the overall renewable energy figures.
The Kingdom of Denmark aims to reach that 50% level of renewable power by 2020, competing with similar sized nations such as Scotland, which is aiming for, with fossil 100%. Iceland lead them all, of course, as they have so much natural renewable energy, they can reach 100% easily. The Danes, though, use far more fossil fuels, like that imported gas, ripe for replacement, but providing nearly 75% of their total energy use. There is the final step for them to achieve their much-wanted goal of greenness.
Here is another wind theory from Mark Z Jacobson and his colleagues that could well appeal to the Danes. They claim that powerful storms can be alleviated by using multiple wind farms offshore, to counter the energy of the winds and convert their awesome energy to useful purpose.
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