FOCUS DENMARK

THE REGULAR BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT REVIEW

Colophon

Title:
FOCUS DENMARK

Subtitle:
THE REGULAR BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT REVIEW

Publisher:
Udenrigsministeriet

Responsible institution:
Udenrigsministeriet

Author:
Udenrigsministeriet

Other contributors:
Schultz Grafisk (Print-web)

Language:
English

URL:
http://www.netpublikationer.dk/um/9352/index.htm

ISSN:
1601-9776

Version:
1.0

Version/edition:
22-06-2009

Publication standard nr.:
2.0

Data formats:
html,htm,jpg,gif,pdf,css,js

Publisher category:
statslig

Table Of Contents

In Brief

2084 - When fossil fuels are history

Wind power champion

An energetic collaboration

Riding a wave of success

A land brimming with energy

Bright Green demonstrators

Climate front-runner

Small country – big environmental muscles

P, Ernie & Enzo

With wind as the standard bearer

Danish energy technologies

Algae to combat climate change

Danish NGOs fight to protect the climate

Danish Economy

• A glimmer of hope

In Brief

Editor in Chief

Ole Frijs-Madsen
Director of Invest in Denmark, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Photo: Peter Clausen

Green front-runner

It is my pleasure as the new Editor in Chief to introduce you to this issue of Focus Denmark, which is devoted to reflecting a front-runner – Denmark, which hosts the UN Climate Change Conference COP15 this December. A country where government, citizens and businesses are committed to making an effort for a better climate.

Necessity is the mother of invention, goes the old saying, and it neatly describes what has motivated the Danes. The oil crisis in the early 1970s accelerated energy-saving initiatives in Danish businesses and in Danish homes. Some started building wind turbines, which at the time was considered rather eccentric. That attitude has radically changed – today Denmark is seen as a role model for its efforts to exploit renewable energy, most of which still comes from wind.

But there are many other ways to create renewable energy: solar cells, fuel cells, solar thermal energy, biomass and wave power. Denmark aims to be a front-runner also in developing these technologies, and many international technology companies have chosen to establish businesses here for the same reason. At the same time, Danish citizens are actively exploring the opportunities that exist to reduce CO2 emissions. Many Danish municipalities have ambitious energy plans, and are building wind farms, solar cell arrays and biogas plants.

Join us on a journey from when Denmark was 90 per cent dependent on oil till today where 20 per cent of Denmark’s electricity is generated from wind – on a journey through a country that has managed to create economic growth without increasing energy consumption.

Enjoy the read.

... either as a point of contact for business activity, or to add to your knowledge of what goes on in Denmark.

Denmark gets new PM as former PM heads for NATO

On Sunday 5th April, 44 year old Lars Løkke Rasmussen became the 41st Prime Minister of Denmark, taking over from Anders Fogh Rasmussen who is moving on to become the Secretary General of NATO.

Lars Løkke Rasmussen, previously the finance minister in the Liberal-Conservative coalition government, had been widely tipped to take over the premier’s mantle as rumours began circulating that the erstwhile PM was eyeing his next career move after three terms of office and seven years in the job.

A graduate in law and a member of the Danish parliament since 1994, Lars Løkke Rasmussen was the Interior and Health Minister in his predecessor’s first and second cabinets, where he spearheaded an ambitious programme of municipal reform. As Minister for Finance, he oversaw the implementation of major tax reform to reduce income tax and increase taxes on pollution. A robust and energetic politician, Lars Løkke Rasmussen is known for his pragmatic rather than ideological approach. He is married and has three children.

By a remarkable coincidence, Lars Løkke Rasmussen is the third Danish Prime Minister in succession to have the surname Rasmussen. Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s immediate predecessor was Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, who lead the government from 1993 to 2001.

Lars Løkke Rasmussen (right) gives his first speech as Prime Minister of Denmark. Behind him newly appointed Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Photo: Scanpix.

Denmark tops Stress Test on Competitiveness

DTU research team first to break ’terabit barrier’

Imagine downloading 80 full-length feature films in just one second. To transfer data at this speed necessitates breaking the “terabit barrier”, and that is exactly what the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) has achieved, reports DR Business.

One terabit per second – or 1 million million bits per second – is an awesome rate of data transfer. Previous attempts have been made by research labs around the world to break the terabit barrier, but none have succeeded. The best attempt hitherto was 640 gigabits per second, which only five laboratories on the planet were capable of reaching.

It is likely that DTU’s breakthrough, achieved using fibre optics and photon pulses, will have significant implications for the future of the internet, where data volumes are increasing at the rate of 60% annually.

Faster data transmission speeds also have environmental benefits, since less electricity consumption equates to less CO2. At present, the internet is responsible for 1% of the world’s entire CO2 emissions.

No freebies at COP15

The Danish government has decided that the DKK 4 million (EUR 537,000) that would otherwise be spent on producing conference packs for the COP15 meeting will instead be used to provide stipendiaries for climate-related studies at Danish universities, reports professional journal Ingeniøren (The Engineer). Conference packs – often including an assortment of free gifts
– are generally expected and routinely provided to delegates and media at major international gatherings. But given the enormous global threat that climate change poses, few of the 15,000 attending COP15 would begrudge the money being used to enable students from around the world to conduct climate research. Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Helge Sander, commented in a press release: “The Climate Stipendiary Fund highlights Denmark’s strong position in the climate-related research area and the opportunities to enhance one’s knowledge at Danish universities.”

Photo: Scanpix.

World’s largest offshore wind farm takes shape

When the UN Climate Change Conference COP15 takes place in Copenhagen in December this year, the world’s largest offshore wind farm – capable of supplying CO2-free electricity to 200,000 households – should be ready to come on stream. And fittingly it lies in Danish waters, 30 km out into the North Sea.

Denmark’s DONG Energy, together with wind turbine manufacturer Siemens and offshore installation experts A2SEA, are currently installing the 91 wind turbines comprising the Horns Rev 2 wind farm. Towering 115 metres above the waves, each turbine will produce 2.3 MW, making the combined output 209 MW. The wind farm covers an area of almost 35 km2, and will be the world’s first to have its own accommodation platform.

Denmark’s Minister for Climate and Energy, Connie Hedegaard, comments in a DONG Energy press release: “The establishment of Horns Rev 2 is an important step in the Danish government’s long-term ambition for Denmark to become independent of fossil fuels.”

Optimised route planning can slash CO2 emissions

Transport companies can reduce their CO2 emissions by as much as 25% by optimising their route planning, says Danish IT company Informi GIS, which specialises in geographic information systems (GIS).

Although most of the main transport companies in Denmark use transport optimisation systems, this is not the case for small and medium-sized transport companies, writes Ugens Erhverv (Business Weekly). Informi GIS sees considerable environmental benefits in these companies using such systems, since they account for a significant part of the Danish transport market.

Informi GIS told Ugens Erhverv: “In a specific example, we analysed and optimised the routes, and created a saving of 25% in driven kilometres. The company we helped delivers goods to customers throughout Zealand. Five drivers set off from a distribution centre on a daily basis and drive routes they plan themselves. The total length of the routes driven in a week is approx. 4,655 km. By analysing and optimising the routes, the same customers can be served by driving only 2,882 km.”

http://www.informi.dk

Denmark tops “Best Countries for Business 2009” ranking

For the fourth time, Forbes Magazine has rolled out its annual Best Countries for Business ranking. And for the second straight year Denmark has taken the No.1 spot, Forbes reports on its website.

All three Scandinavian countries feature in the Top 10 for 2009: Denmark (1), USA (2), Canada (3), Singapore (4), New Zealand (5), United Kingdom (6), Sweden (7), Australia (8), Hong Kong (9) and Norway (10).

 The 2009 ranking looks at business conditions in 127 economies, not to see who has the highest GDP or lowest unemployment but as Forbes puts it, “to quantify for entrepreneurs and investors the often-qualified information about dynamic economies and what they would consider desirable conditions for business”.

Forbes’ Best Countries for Business ranking recognises the importance of personal freedoms (“it’s hard to start a company or find talented employees under totalitarian regimes and military juntas”), and includes measures to quantify this such as free and fair elections, legal protection for investors, levels of corruption, stock market performance, intellectual property rights, promotion of free trade, levels of inflation, and taxation on income and investment.

Danish restaurant third best in the world

Photo: Scanpix

The Danish restaurant Noma has been ranked third best in the world in the 2009 Restaurant Magazine Top 50 after El Bulli in Spain and The Fat Duck in Great Britain. Noma rose 7 places compared to last year’s ranking and also took this year’s Chef’s Choice Award, which is given by the chefs from the 50 best restaurants. So, according to the best chefs of the world, Noma ranks No.1 in the world.

Noma has two stars in the Michelin Guide. The cuisine of Noma is Nordic/ Scandinavian; the restaurant’s founders René Redzepi and Claus Meyer have attempted to redefine this Nordic cuisine. Noma is situated in Christianshavn in Copenhagen harbour.

2084 - When fossil fuels are history

DENMARK 2084

By Morten Andersen

The year is 2084. Wind turbines, wave machines, biofuel plants and fuel cells are the visible signs, but if you want to see the heart of the new energy system, you have to step into one of the computer centres.

Since all electric appliances are optimised with frequency electronics so their power consumption is minimal, consumption cannot possibly keep pace with all the electricity that is being produced. But the surplus energy is not wasted.

Even in the smallest towns, there are plants that make either hydrogen or liquid fuel. The technology is quite simple. The grid constantly knows how much electricity will be produced in the next five days – the weather reports and forecasts for wind, waves and sun are extremely accurate. So are the forecasts of the extent to which consumption will vary. Each time the grid calculates that there is plenty of electricity available, electrolysis is started up in water tanks which splits water into its two constituent elements, oxygen and hydrogen.

Illustration: Lars Chrois

Hydrogen, methanol and bioethanol

Some of the electrolysis plants produce only hydrogen. Most of the hydrogen is used in cars powered by fuel cells, or in the many fuel cell plants in people’s homes where they meet the needs for both heat and electricity. In addition, hydrogen is used in micro-fuel cells that run children’s toys and other small devices.

Other electrolysis plants are a bit more advanced. Instead of making pure hydrogen they make a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide called synthesis gas. It is further processed to methanol, which most cars can run on. Liquid fuels for cars have the practical benefit of being easier to store and transport than hydrogen - as hydrogen is a gas at ordinary temperature and pressure. But hydrogen is inexpensive, so the fuel cell powered motor still has many loyal followers.

Many however prefer to fuel their cars with bioethanol. At the turn of the century, maize and other food crops were used to make bioethanol. But from 2020, this first generation bioethanol was superseded by the next generation, using enzymes to decompose straw, sugar beet tops and other forms of waste from agriculture and the production of food.

Bioethanol plants are usually co-located with electrolysis plants. Because when water is split water by means of electrolysis, not only hydrogen is generated, but also oxygen. And oxygen is necessary for making bioethanol. In the old days, oxygen was obtained by sucking it out of the air. But air is 80 per cent nitrogen, so a fair amount of the energy was wasted on pumping an unnecessary substance around. It is thus cheaper and more energy-friendly to exploit pure oxygen, which is an automatic by-product when water is electrolysed to make hydrogen.

US President Barack Obama praises Denmark as a model for renewable energy. Photo: Scanpix

Beautiful solar cells

In the first decades of the millennium, houses were still being built with small windows to save on energy. Here in 2084, it is considered optimally energy-efficient to use large windows. The window pane is provided with nano-perforation, which even on a winter day draws energy from the sunlight and is actually the principal energy source for providing electricity and heat in the home.

At the same time, glass has now become so strong that it is the preferred material of most architects. But houses cannot be built completely of glass, because there still needs to be space for solar cells. Previously, architects and industrial designers did everything they could to fit the cells as discreetly as possible into their products. They had been placed everywhere on buildings, vehicles and on all sorts of products without them being noticed at all.

That way of thinking is now considered old-fashioned. Instead it has become popular to exploit the decorative characteristics of solar cells, which sparkle strikingly in turquoise and deep blue shades.

Solar cells are now the principal means of producing electricity, closely followed by wind turbines – many of which are quite dated but are still steadily producing electricity – and the latest generation of attractively designed wave power machines.

Flexible consumption

On the consumption side, electric cars are the big energy users. But in some situations the electric car also functions as a supplier of electricity. Although there is an overall capacity
to produce a lot more electricity than is needed, situations can sometimes arise where there is a shortage of electricity e.g. when production from wind, wave and sunshine drops at a time when consumption is high.

When this situation occurs, electric cars can discharge electricity and restore the balance between consumption and production in the grid. Household appliances such as refrigerators, freezers and washing machines can also temporarily have their consumption constrained if electricity is likely to be in scarce supply. The same applies to machines in companies. Everything is managed by computer centres, which continuously communicate the price of electricity. Electric cars and many types of electric appliance can respond to price signals so that they serve their owner’s economy in the best possible way, and also in a way which ensures the overall balance of the grid.

There is still a lot of coal and oil in the world. But everybody agrees to let it stay where it is. Maybe it will be needed for something one day.

Illustration: Lars Chrois

Photo: Risø/DTU

In 2084 the energy system will be intelligent

 “It is certainly possible that we will more or less have freed ourselves of dependency on fossil fuels by 2084 – in our part of the world, that is,” says Henrik Bindslev, director of Risø DTU, the National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy..

“Should there be a surplus of energy in Denmark, as it is described, there will be a need for it in other regions of the world. If, at that time, there is plenty of electricity all over the world, it would surprise me.”

The Risø DTU director thinks it rather optimistic that the production and consumption of electricity in 2084 can be predicted exactly five days ahead, as it is described:

“On the other hand I am convinced that there will be intelligence built into all parts of the energy system. It will also be possible to postpone some of the consumption so that the balance in the energy system is maintained, and energy will be supplied back to the grid as it is described.”

Henrik Bindslev does not however believe that the range of fuels for cars will be as wide in 2084 as the article predicts:

“I think we will end up favouring either electric cars or hydrogen fuel cell cars. Most probably I think that it will be electric cars supplemented with synthetic liquid fuels, which could either be hydrocarbon or nitrogen-containing compounds, perhaps supplemented with biofuels for heavy goods road haulage and shipping.”

He doubts there will be surplus production of energy where liquid fuel is stored for longer periods:

“One has to remember that the new sustainable energy sources are more expensive than coal and oil. So general economic optimisation will see to it that no more energy is produced than necessary. But I can fully support the idea of oil staying in the ground. Oil is an amazing raw material for many purposes, so there are certainly better things to use it for than burning it!”

Wind power champion

STATUS | WIND POWER

Photo: Scanpix

By Mary-Anne Karas

A hundred years ago, hardly anyone would have imagined that nature’s bountiful storehouse would come to play such an important role in a small country far to the north, where modest hills and small valleys are the only variations in an otherwise flat landscape.

Today, however, wind turbines are generously scattered throughout the country.

Over the past couple of decades, wind turbines have grown in popularity, generating anything between 0 and approx. 3 gigawatts for the power grid.

Over the past 25 years, the invisible wind has become one of Denmark’s most valuable natural resources.

Today, wind supplies 20 per cent of the electricity used in Denmark. In future, this percentage will have to increase to achieve our ambitious climate goals.

The power grid is the backbone

The range of tools to control wind power includes everything from the planning of the power grid and robust international connections, reliable wind forecasts and adequate reserve capacity for calm periods to a well-functioning electricity market in which players compensate for any imbalances and consumer behaviour comes to reflect the strength of the wind.

Transmitting wind energy from the turbine blades to consumers’ wall sockets poses a huge challenge to the electricity transmission grid.

Wind power is only of value if the power lines between the wind turbines and the end-users are up to standard. This involves more than just Danish consumers. To make the optimum use of wind energy, it is necessary to be able to transmit it to the location in Europe where it is most needed. Consequently, Energinet.dk is constantly working on expanding and reinforcing the Danish grid and the international connections.

This is a task that requires considerable planning and analysis of the estimated need for new power lines and the positioning of wind farms.

Reserve capacity for calm periods

Consumers demand electricity whether the turbine blades rotate or not. Therefore, substantial amounts of wind power require considerable reserves of other types of power generation.

In changing weather conditions, the output of Danish wind turbines may go from 0 to 3 gigawatts in just a few hours – and vice versa.

Steady and adequate supply of electricity depends to a considerable extent on access to other production facilities capable of taking over should the wind abate. One option is coal-fired power stations, but Norwegian hydropower in particular is an excellent supplement to wind power.

It is often possible to import environmentally-friendly electricity from the Norwegian hydropower plants, when the wind is not strong enough. This is often the case during the summer months when Danish power stations supply less electricity and heat than in the winter months.

Illustrations: Energistyrelsen

First priority to green electricity

To ensure as much renewable energy to Danish consumers as possible, green electricity from renewable energy sources is given first priority in the power grid. In this way, wind energy provides a base for the market, but as the amount of wind energy in the grid literally fluctuates with the weather, the price charged by other producers for electricity is subject to similar fluctuations.

“Our market model forces other electricity suppliers to produce only when it is profitable. Danish consumers, therefore, benefit from electricity generated with the least possible environmental impact,” explains Anders Plejdrup Houmøller, Director of Business Development at the power exchange Nord Pool Spot, which organises the trade in electricity between the Nordic countries.

When it comes to renewable energy, Danish and European politicians are very ambitious. The aim is that in 2025, 50 per cent of Danish electricity will come from renewable energy sources. This means many more wind turbines than today, for which reason the number of tools must also be increased.

“Managing the amount of wind energy available in the future will present quite a challenge, but we have already come a long way in developing new tools. We need to put wind energy to even better use. To use it for transport and for heating our houses. We need to integrate all energy systems and use wind energy for an increasing number of purposes. This will allow us to handle even larger amounts of wind,” says Dorthe Vinther, Head of Strategic Planning at Energinet.dk.

An energetic collaboration

STATUS | STRONG COLLABORATIONS

Henrik Stiesdal, head of technology at Siemens Wind Power, is one of the pioneers of wind farms. He is currently researching robust wind turbines which can operate without gears. Photo: Siemens press picture

By Morten Andersen

A professor at a Danish university one day needed a special instrument for an experiment. He knew that the institute’s technicians could construct it in a couple of months. But he also knew that a Danish company already produced it. So he got on the phone and the next day the instrument came. Without an invoice.

“That type of informal contact I think is something typically Danish. It saves us a lot of time,” says the professor, who wishes however to remain anonymous since the approach did not accord with the formal guidelines he should actually have followed.

Mapping wind resources is another example of the Danish interplay between industry, authorities and public sector research institutions. The software programme WAsP (Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program) from Risø DTU, the National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, can calculate wind resources in a given locality 20 years ahead in time with an accuracy of ±5 per cent.

“The importance that WAsP has had for the wind turbine industry cannot be overestimated,” says head of technology Henrik Stiesdal at Siemens Wind Power. “All the efforts we make in the industry to produce turbines as excellently and inexpensively and possible won’t help if our customers can’t borrow money to finance their projects. In Denmark we have had thorough knowledge of wind resources for a long time. But most export markets did not possess this type of data and WAsP has thus been vital for stable exports.”

Springboard for exports

The WAsP programme has been developed by Risø National Laboratory, today part of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The laboratory was originally established with the aim of preparing for the introduction of nuclear power in Denmark. Throughout the 1970s, popular resistance against nuclear power increased, and in 1984 the Danish Parliament decided that Danish energy policy could manage without it. But it certainly couldn’t manage without Risø, which had long since readjusted itself to research in a number of new energy technologies with wind power as the driving force.

The Danish Parliament also helped to propel wind power along. A subsidy scheme allowed owners of wind turbines to supply electricity to the grid at approximately the same price as from coal-fired power stations. That was enough to accelerate demand for wind turbines. Danish manufacturers thus gained a domestic market, which again became a springboard for exports. When California decided to focus strongly on wind power at the end of the 1980s, Danish suppliers were ready.

Today, subsidies are no longer necessary to fill order books. Coal-fired electricity generation is still cheaper than wind power, but the difference is small and an increasing number of countries and energy companies are willing to pay a modest premium to protect the climate.

This does not mean however that the Danish model, where companies, public sector research institutions and authorities collaborate, has become superfluous. Today the model is being used to promote a number of other forms of renewable energy, which are not yet commercially viable.

The Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, Connie Hedegaard, figures on Time Magazine’s list of the World’s Most Influential People. Photo: Scanpix

First fuel cell factory

The most interesting area is probably fuel cells, which use hydrogen or a hydrogen-containing fuel to produce electricity.

In Lyngby, north of the capital Copenhagen, lies the world’s first factory for production of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC). These operate at a much higher temperature and have a much higher coefficient of energy utilization than plastic membrane based fuel cells, which are already in production in several places around the world.

The factory is owned by Topsoe Fuel Cell, a subsidiary of Haldor Topsoe, and it has come into being based on a long-term collaboration with Risø DTU.

“There has been a lot of talk about fuel cells, but it was not until Haldor Topsoe and Risø entered a collaboration agreement in 2001 that things gained pace,” says managing director Claus Olsen, Topsoe Fuel Cell.

“We needed some fuel cells for conducting experiments, and Risø was the only place where we could have them made. Risø appreciated this, also because the agreement was formulated to give Risø an interest in commercial production resulting from the collaboration. Now we have established our own factory, Risø can concentrate on what they are best at, namely research, which we are also very interested in ourselves. We are dependent on making the best fuel cells not only here and now, but also in 3 to 5 years.”

Limousines that run on straw

A notable example of the collaboration between Danish research institutions, companies and authorities is bioethanol production. Many countries are already using ethanol – the technical term for alcohol – to fuel cars. But they are making it from crops such as maize and sugar cane which could have served as food for human beings. In Kalundborg however, Inbicon, a subsidiary
of DONG Energy, is building a facility which instead produces bioethanol from straw. This is called 2nd generation bioethanol.

The process requires enzymes which can break down straw – and possibly other agricultural waste products – into a form that is suitable for the production of ethanol. To get to this stage has required comprehensive research from a number of Danish public sector institutions, as well as the enzyme manufacturers Danisco Genencor and Novozymes, and DONG Energy. In addition to the companies’ own investments, subsidies for the research and development work have been received from the EU and from Danish research programmes.

The facility will be able to handle 4 tons of straw per hour, corresponding to 35,000 tons annually. The resulting output will be 4,300 tons of bioethanol, 11,000 tons of animal feed and 8,250 tons of solid biofuel which can replace coal for electricity and heat production.

“With this facility we are going from pilot scale to demonstration scale”, says Inbicon’s managing director Niels Henriksen.

The objective is to demonstrate that the process can operate on an industrial scale. The facility is the forerunner of actual commercial plants with a capacity at least 10 times larger.

The first demonstration will be made in connection with the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December, where some of the limousines ferrying high-ranking politicians around – more specifically two thirds of the Volvo limousines – will be fuelled by 2nd generation bioethanol.

Riding a wave of success

By Morten Andersen

With seven working pilot plants, Denmark is among the world’s most advanced countries in developing wave power for practical use. And according to the chairman of the Danish Wave Energy Society, Danish experience with wind power has been a great inspiration:

“We can use a lot of the knowledge that the wind industry has gained in materials and modelling of flows – although flows in water are naturally very different from flows in air,” says Erik Skaarup.

“Especially with offshore wind turbines, considerable experience has also been gained in running cables under water and constructing foundations, which are also very relevant to us.”

The two forms of energy also supplement each other well, opines Erik Skaarup: “We are already seeing that some of the latest offshore wind farms are being prepared for the installation of wave power plants in the future. One of the problems with wind power is that the wind can abate within a few hours. Waves also naturally diminish, but the change occurs significantly more slowly. Furthermore, wave power is more predictable – you can calculate what your production will be over the next three days. So there is good synergy in combining wind power and wave power, because wave power can help stabilise the electricity supply. Altogether it is about combining as many renewable energy sources as possible.”

While the vast majority of wind turbines are based on the same fundamental principle, there are major differences between the various concepts in wave power. As chairman of the Danish Wave Energy Society, Erik Skaarup declines to point to any particular concept as the most promising:

“Some of the concepts can be realised on a commercial scale for DKK 5 million (EUR 671,000) while others require investments of up to DKK 200 million (EUR 27 million). I expect that the plants requiring the least investment will be realised first. But which types of plant will be the winners in the long term is a completely different question.”

According to Erik Skaarup, it will be three years before the first plants are sold.

Photo: Scanpix

1. Poseidon – Vindeby, Lolland
   Floating Power Plant A/S has permission to test at Vindeby until March 2010.
   Read more on http://www.floatingpowerplant.com
   
   
   
2. Wave Dragon – Nissum Bredning
   Wave Dragon has permission for testing and electricity production at the Nissum Bredning site until the end of December 2009.
   Read more on http://www.wavedragon.net
   
   
   
3. Wave Star – Nissum Bredning
   Wave Star has permission to test at the Nissum Bredning site until August 2011. The plant is connected to the mainland by a bridge.
   Read more on http://www.wavestarenergy.com
   
   
   
4. Wave Star – Hanstholm
   Wave Star has permission to test at the Hanstholm site until 2013. The plant is connected to the mainland by a bridge.
   Read more on http://www.wavestarenergy.com
   
   
   
5. WavePlane – Hanstholm
   WavePlane has permission to test at the Hanstholm site until August 2009.
   Read more on http://www.waveplane.com
   
   
   
6. and 7 DEXA Wave Energy
   – Venø Bay and Hanstholm
   The model sited in Venø Bay has permission to test until October 2009. The Danish Energy Agency is currently assessing an application for testing at the Hanstholm site until August 2011.
   Read more on http://www.dexawave.com

A land brimming with energy

STATUS | CLIMATE AND ENERGY COMPANIES

By Inge Kjærgaard

There are between 700 and 800 companies in Denmark with activities in the climate and energy sector, spread chiefly across three competence areas: biomass, wind and intelligent solutions for buildings.

“There is a great deal of interest in climate-friendly initiatives, and Danish companies are very progressive in this area. Many people think that we need to start finding solutions to the CO2 problem, but that isn’t necessary. We already have them – they just need implementing more extensively,” says Kristian Wederkinck Olesen, communications consultant at Climate Consortium Denmark, the official focal point for all Danish business-related activities leading up to the UN Climate Change Conference, COP15, in Copenhagen in December.

Denmark can thank the oil crisis in the 1970s for the favourable position it now occupies. Because that was when energy and security of supply came into focus, both at government level and across Danish society as a whole. A strategy was set in train to decrease dependency on oil, and considerable attention has been given to green energy ever since.

“A framework has been created in Denmark that makes it interesting to be a company in the climate and energy sector. The Danish government has favourable tax rules for those who save on energy, and naturally the energy companies have realised there is an incentive to develop themselves and improve their product. The main players have brought a large number of sub-suppliers into being, and now we have a wide range of energy companies,” explains Kristian Wederkinck Olesen.

There are good prospects for energy companies. The Danish government hopes that the conference will result in an ambitious climate agreement which lays down binding CO2 reduction targets for every country in the world, leading to even greater focus on energy-saving products.

CMS - Monitoring of the mechanical parts such as the motor, gearbox, shafts and transformer. Data is continuously sent to service staff and owners via the SCADA system Gateway. Mita-Teknik CMS is certificated by Allianz.

A wind turbine looks so simple standing there in the landscape – the blades rotating at a steady pace, peacefully generating electricity. But within the turbine nacelle lurks a lot of complicated electronics which ensure that the turbine functions as it should.

It is often only the company which has manufactured the turbine that one hears about, such as Vestas, Enercon or GE Energy. But behind these giant companies there are a host of sub-suppliers. One of them is Denmark’s Mita-Teknik, which develops and produces control concepts for wind turbines. The product range consists of an overall control system (the brain in the turbine), a sensor system, power panels and electronics. In fact everything which makes the wind turbine function as it should.

The company is a seasoned player in the market – it has existed since 1969 and has been around for the entire development of the modern wind turbine industry, so the wind turbine equipment business area has become an increasingly important part of the company. And Mita-Teknik is not only located in Denmark – the company has development, sales, support and production facilities in Germany, Spain, Ukraine, India, China and Malaysia.

“The wind turbine market has become a lot more international, and we want to be competitive on the international market. It is also about proximity – we want to be close to customers so that we can provide a fast and local service,” says Mita-Teknik director Jesper Andersen.

Illustration: Mita-Teknik

Interest in the wind turbine industry has been steadily increasing over the last 30 years, and the director of Mita-Teknik does not see it waning in the future. He just sees a trend that means more contact with the whole world.

“Our company is moving towards an even more international future. Major new market areas will continuously emerge, and we will naturally target them. We will continue to have our platform in Denmark, but we are constantly working on having a setup out in the world which can contribute to the company’s success,” says Jesper Andersen.

And Mita-Teknik is a company which is very much looking out beyond Denmark’s borders. 95% of sales are direct exports to wind turbine manufacturers worldwide.

The two-man company DrivhusEffekten (The Greenhouse Effect) was founded with the single purpose of making a difference to the environment. It advises companies on how they can improve their image by thinking in environmentally-friendly terms – and at the same time put black numbers on the bottom line.

“Our message is ’Cool business and common sense’. There is money to be made by being environmentally conscious, and you can use it actively to strengthen your own image. We want to refute the idea that it is costly to be environmentally friendly,” says Hans Andersen, a partner in DrivhusEffekten.

Advice can comprise a review of how customers can achieve a greener profile, but DrivhusEffekten can also take the task the whole way and ensure that a greener profile becomes a reality.

One of the company’s clients is Copenhagen Zoo, which will hold a conference for all the zoos in Europe in September. DrivhusEffekten’s task is to ensure that the conference will be CO2 neutral. It includes a calculation of CO2 emissions in connection with transport to the conference, as well as the energy consumption of the conference itself. At the end of the event, a total CO2 figure will be calculated. To cover it, either CO2 quotas will be purchased or if possible a solar cell array produced for an equivalent sum. The possible array will be placed at the headquarters of the European Association of Zoos and Aquarias at Amsterdam Zoo.

One of DrivhusEffekten’s future plans is to focus on solar cells.

The company has contacted the world’s largest solar cell manufacturer, Norway’s REC Group, which does not currently supply its products to the Danish market. In collaboration with them, DrivhusEffekten will introduce solar cells in Denmark that are cheaper than the current market price.

“Pricewise it must be attractive to buy solar cells in Denmark. Solar cells are an obvious way for companies to become more climate conscious and at the same make a statement that people can see. There is visible branding value in it,” says Andersen.

llustration: NKT Flexibles

The founders of DrivhusEffekten, Bjarne Rasmussen (left) and Hans Andersen. Photo: Drivhuseffekten

Denmark’s NKT was the first company in the world to produce flexible pipes that can also withstand high pressure. In 1968, NKT was to supply submarine cables to the small island of Heimaey, which is part of Iceland. There were problems in providing clean water to the island, and NKT hatched the idea of removing the copper wires from the current-carrying cables, so that water could be transported through the cavity.

The 14 kilometre pipe is still transporting water to the island and last year, exactly 40 years after the first pipe was laid, it gained a ’sister’ pipe, technically more modern and with a slightly larger diameter, but otherwise based on the same principle. In the intervening years, NKT has supplied several island communities with water in UK, Croatia, Italy, Greece and the Seychelles.

The special thing about this pipe is its flexibility, which means that it can be laid on the seabed where it follows the seabed contours. A steel pipe would sit statically and be destroyed by sea currents. The flexible polymer pipe is not destroyed, and can withstand the high pressure at great depth.

“Our water pipe programme comprises both pipes for supplying drinking water to isolated town and island communities lacking a natural or sufficient water supply, and pipes for environmental improvements in the form of wastewater treatment”, says Jakob Zeuner, area sales manager for NKT Flexibles.

NKT is currently working on water projects in Brazil, UK, West Africa, Australia and the Middle East.

“Water is an important resource for everyone, and we enter the collaboration so that everyone can have a share of that resource. With our pipe technology we can get water out to those regions of the world which do not have clear water themselves,” says Jakob Zeuner.

Private dwellings with leaking windows, bad heating systems – in short, houses that were built in an era when energy requirements were different – are some of the biggest culprits when it comes to CO2 emissions. Together with business premises, they account for 40 per cent of the CO2 that is discharged into the atmosphere in Denmark. But the Danish state and companies in the construction industry have a plan.

Illustration: Henning Larsen Architects

EnergyFlexHouse is the setting for a broad collaboration between the Danish Technological Institute and a number of Danish companies. It consists of two houses that were completed in May, which provide a special opportunity to create the most energy-friendly building by testing how different energy-saving products can work interactively with each other.

“There are lots of different products and technologies being produced, which are tested and approved separately, but now we have the opportunity to test how they actually work together. Many of them need to be adjusted to get the optimal end products and the most energy-friendly house,” explains Mikael Grimmig, project manager at the Danish Technological Institute.

EnergyFlexHouse consists of two parts: EnergyFlexLab and EnergFlexFamily. In the FlexLab, many different installations can be developed and tested together. Changes can quickly be made to for example heating systems, ventilation systems and windows, providing the opportunity to test many different technologies in interplay and find the best possible combinations. After that, the most promising combined solutions are tested for user-friendliness in the FlexFamily house, because no matter how well the technologies may have been thought through, they may perform very differently when human beings take them into use.

“It is always a challenge when people and technology have to work together. The technology can be so complicated that the user does not understand it – and then the technology is not exploited or in the worst case is exploited wrongly. So it is also about seeking to make an intelligent user interface, so that the technology is used optimally. Otherwise smart solutions make no difference,” says Mikael Grimmig.

Companies can develop their product in collaboration with the Danish Technological Institute, and by having it tested in combination with other products and technologies, they can create an even better product, which benefits the climate.

EnergyFlexHouse is not solely geared to the Danish construction industry.

“Construction and energy technology are naturally very different from country to country. There is a big difference between building concepts for a house in Denmark and for example in China or USA. The technology in connection with buildings must be adjusted to conditions in the individual countries, and that is another challenge we have taken up,” says Mikael Grimmig.

Photo: Danish Tecnological Institute.

EnergyFlexHouse will be open during COP15 in December 2009.

EnergyFlexHouse will be open during COP15, and the Danish Technological Institute naturally hopes to receive visits from delegations. But the most important thing is the period that follows.

“We see the climate summit as the starting signal for a long and comprehensive effort, where the solutions from Energy-FlexHouse come into play. It is a building playground for idea makers, technicians and users and a strong international marking of Denmark’s position in energy efficiency improvement,” says Mikael Grimmig.

Bright Green demonstrators

By Inge Kjærgaard

Summits call for inspiring debate and preferably common objectives for the future. But demonstrators can also turn up to express their opinions – sometimes in a violent way.

When the countries of the world meet at the UN Climate Change Conference COP 15 in December, the business community will also be demonstrating ... with an exhibition. Bright Green is the name of the trade fair, where energy companies from all over the world will showcase their products.

“It is not a doomsday demonstration, but a set of positive pointers to how climate challenges can be solved. It is a collective voice and we would like to send a strong signal that the solutions are here,” says Jens Holst-Nielsen of DI (Confederation of Danish Industry).

He hopes that politicians and civil servants will visit the exhibition, which is also designed to provide the Danish public with an opportunity to get closer
to COP15 and pick up ideas for what they themselves can do at home.

“We think that the climate challenge can seem rather distant to the general public, and the exhibition provides an opportunity to be involved in the event. Our impression is that the climate challenge is becoming increasingly interesting to ordinary people,” says Jens Holst-Nielsen.

150 companies are expected to exhibit at Bright Green. Each will have a stand where they will present their contribution to solving the climate challenge. It is not just an exhibition to promote the Danish business community – the whole world is invited. There will be major companies from Japan, Germany, USA and France. For the organisers of Bright Green, it is important to show that climate is a global challenge.

Vestas installs a wind turbine every three hours. Globally. Photo: Scanpix

Climate front-runner

OIL CRISIS

View the picture in full size

Photos: Scanpix

By Hans Mogensen

In the past 25 years, Denmark’s economy has grown by 75 per cent, while energy consumption has remained largely constant.

A targeted strategy, an unrelenting, active political effort and a unique innovation culture have created this Danish success story. It is called the Danish example.

Oil boycott

October 1973. The energy crisis came as a shock – precipitated by the war between Israel and Egypt/Syria and the Arab oil boycott of the USA and Western Europe.

The oil price skyrocketed, generating major uncertainty about the future energy supply.

At the time, oil accounted for 90 per cent of Denmark’s energy requirement, and motorists had to learn to do without their cars on Sundays, while shop owners were asked to turn off lights outside opening hours. It was just the beginning.

In 1979, a new oil crisis followed the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the fall of the Shah.

The first Ministry of Energy

The shock of two oil crises galvanised the Danish society into innovation and change. Mr and Mrs Denmark turned down the heat and insulated their houses. Popular movements worked to meet the global challenges engendered by the energy crises and thus advanced development.

Companies began taking an interest in energy savings and energy efficiency, and the government made energy policy a priority.

In 1976, the first complete energy plan came into being. It focussed on decreasing energy consumption and dependence on oil.

In 1979, the Danish Parliament passed acts on the supply of heat and natural gas, Denmark created its first Ministry of Energy, and in the following years, acts were passed on renewable energy subsidies and energy savings in buildings.

Green taxes

In the 1980s, district heating and co-production of electricity and heat were dramatically expanded, and in the 1990s, the Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy grew very strong.

New energy plans set continually higher targets for reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. These objectives were met with the help of stricter legislation, green taxes, incentives and energy saving campaigns.

Since the turn of the millennium, energy policy requirements have once again changed. Considerable oil price increases and a new, strong climate awareness in Denmark and globally have brought new energy agreements with even higher targets.

Small country – big environmental muscles

STATUS | ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS

By Nadia Louise Kristensen

At Denmark’s geographical centre lies a small island – one that the whole world is watching. Even Time Magazine has visited Samsø, as the island is called, and has named one of Samsø’s energy-engaged residents a genuine climate hero. The reason why Time Magazine made the long trip to Samsø is because the island has been the main character in a special energy story, which continues to inspire other Danish municipalities to think in renewable energy terms. Not just for the sake of the environment, but also because it pays.

In April, US President Barack Obama referred to Denmark as a model for the US regarding renewable energy. And it is to a great extent the general public and the municipalities one needs to look at to explain why Denmark is in the vanguard of the fight against climate change. Here Samsø also furnishes an excellent example.

“Popular commitment has resulted in the creation of an entire industry around clean energy and energy saving in Denmark.

And if you look at Danish industry today, it is remarkable how many companies have a positive attitude to the environment and energy saving. They use it as a competition parameter,” says Jørgen Goul Andersen, professor in political sociology at Aalborg University in Denmark.

Over the last 30 years, Professor Andersen has monitored Danish attitudes to environmental issues. Even back in the 1970s, environment and energy were topics of discussion in Danish living rooms. It was a subject almost as hotly debated as unemployment. A Eurobarometer (regular surveys commissioned by the EC since 1973) showed that at the end of the 1970s, Denmark was among the most environmentally-conscious countries in Europe.

According to Jørgen Goul Andersen, the interest was created by initiatives such as car-free Sundays during the oil crisis and grassroots movements, supported by a number of political initiatives. Denmark was for example the first country in the world to establish an actual environment ministry.

“The fact that environmental efforts were institutionalised at an early stage, has had the effect of maintaining focus on the issues,” says Jørgen Goul Andersen.

A lengthy series of private initiatives showed the way forward for renewable energy. And they still do.

This is where Samsø comes into the picture again. Because the island has become self-sufficient in electricity from wind energy in 10 years and also generates 70% of the energy it needs for heating. And local ownership has been an important part of the comprehensive project.

“We said that the wind turbines had to be co-operatively based, and all parties had to be included. That has been one of the most important lessons in this process. Local embeddedness is important. If you own the turbine yourself, you don’t complain about having it in your back yard,” says Jesper Kjems, head of communication at Samsø Energy Academy, which accumulates and communicates knowledge on renewable energy. The academy is partly financed by Samsø municipality.

There are many parties in the project.

The municipality owns wind turbines. Farmers own wind turbines and sell straw for heating. Tradesmen sell wood burning stoves and solar panels, and insulate and lay pipes for district heating. Ordinary citizens own shares in power plants and wind turbines. Hotels enjoy trade from eco-tourists who visit outside the season – attracted to Samsø by the Energy Academy. The local electrician services the onshore wind turbines and childminders, instead of using cars, use a traditional Danish load-carrying tricycle called a Christiana bike for everything from transporting kids to getting the shopping home.”

Local embeddedness will also be central to the next projects, because Samsø does not want to stop here. But what the project will be – that is for the islanders to decide.

“We are in the process of calling in people to ask them what the next project should be. Should Samsø for instance be 100 percent organic in 10 years or a 100 per cent recycling society? The most important thing is that we start on what is important for people,” says Jesper Kjems.

The seed for Samsø’s energy adventure was actually sown by a crisis. In 1995, the local abattoir closed and many were made redundant as the abattoir was a relatively large workplace. In many other parts of Denmark there are similar stories of local communities being amputated by company closures. But such crises have also stimulated involvement. In that way the story of Samsø is similar to that of many other outskirt areas in Denmark.

See video on fd.denmark.dk

Samsø’s childminders tranport children in Christiania bikes (top). Good grazing around the solar heating panels on Samsø. Photos: Energiakademiet.dk

A renewable energy town

Under the slogan ’Join the fossil fuel free future: make the green economy grow’, Frederikshavn municipality aims to fully convert to renewable energy in just six years.

Frederikshavn is situated in the most northerly part of Denmark and has been an enterprising seaport for many years. But in the 1990s, just like Samsø, Frederikshavn was affected by the closure of the town’s major workplaces. Here it was the shipyards that went under.

“The citizens of Frederikshavn have been through a tremendous transformation in the occupational field, so they are open to trying new things,” says the mayor of Frederikshavn municipality, Erik Sørensen.

The closure of the shipyards triggered many projects – initially they had nothing to do with climate – but they did in 2006 when Erik Sørensen was presented with the idea of switching a Danish town over to renewable energy.

“I saw the opportunity for us to become part of a new energy adventure in Denmark. Just look at the wind turbines. Of course people can keep on talking and holding conferences, but if you don’t do something, nothing will happen,” says Sørensen on the motivation for launching into the ambitious energy project.

In 2007, the city council decided that Frederikshavn should be a sort of model town, showing that with existing technology and in a relatively short period, the municipality could free itself fully from fossil fuels.

The objective is to make Frederikshavn municipality completely independent of fossil fuels by 2015 – including in the transport area.

“Every second, the western world spends 1 million Danish kroner [EUR 135,000] on oil. Although oil prices have just dropped, we know that prices will increase in the long term. We think we can use the money better for local energy production. When we switch over our energy production to being independent of fossil fuels, we will also create growth in the local society. So we think that environment equates to good economics,” says Mikael Kau, who is director of Energi City Frederikshavn, a foundation that was created to plan and implement the project.

The groundbreaking part of the project is that the municipality is also including the transport sector, because the technologies are still at a fledgling stage. They are experimenting with biogas, electric cars and fuel cell hybrid cars.

“Naturally the city council cannot force the private citizen to buy an electric or hybrid car, but we will ensure that the technology and fuels are available so that they have the choice,” says Mikael Kau.

When the project has been realised, it should be transferable to other towns in Denmark and, for that matter, to the rest of the world.

An 8,000 square metre solar heating plant outside Frederikshavn is part of the ’renewable energy town’ plan. Photo: Frederikshavn Kommune

From unemployment to hydrogen adventure

On Lolland, Europe´s first full-scale hydrogen society is emerging.

The island of Lolland is an area of Denmark which has been hard hit by unemployment in recent decades, especially after the shipyard in the main town of Nakskov had to close in 1987. Since then Lolland has been most known as a place where poor Danes went to get an inexpensive house and their social benefits.

“The deeply unfortunate thing for Lolland is the lack of knowledge of what is happening there. People still think it is an underdeveloped sugar beet growing area where single women with shabby children move to. That chapter is closed,” says the mayor of Lolland municipality, Stig Vestergaard.

Changing Lolland’s reputation and attracting companies and well-educated people are just some of the reasons why Lolland has launched a comprehensive campaign for a better environment, but to the mayor, it is also about responsibility.

 “I think everybody can and should be part of making a difference regarding the planet we inhabit. I very seriously believe that everybody has a duty to make a difference – especially all of us who are decision-makers,” says Vestergaard.

Nowhere else in the world is so much renewable energy being generated per capita as on Lolland. Electricity consumption is exclusively covered by local renewable energy, which also covers 75 per cent of heat consumption. And there is still enough wind energy for exports.

Lolland has become a global display case for groundbreaking energy projects. The island is dotted with wind turbines and biofuel plants. And what is probably most revolutionary is the future full-scale hydrogen community.

So far, the challenge with wind energy has been that you can’t easily store it. Sometimes more electricity is produced than the grid can take, which can lead to wind turbines being stopped for a period, with the result that the environmentally-friendly and freely accessible energy source – wind – is not exploited. This is where hydrogen comes into the picture. Because by combining wind energy with hydrogen and fuel cells, the surplus energy that wind turbines sometimes generate can be stored. And the owners of the wind turbines also avoid having to sell energy at very low prices because there is too much electricity on the market in relation to demand.

In September 2008, the first household in the village of Vestenskov on Lolland was connected to a hydrogen network, which provides the household with electricity and heat based on renewable energy sources, hydrogen and fuel cells. There are currently five houses connected, which obtain their heat and electricity exclusively from renewable energy sources. The vision is that the system will comprise 35 households by autumn 2009 – which will make Vestenskov the first hydrogen society in Europe.

“With strongly fluctuating oil prices and the end of Denmark’s oil and gas adventure in the North Sea, hydrogen technology will become one of the future energy systems which can help replace our consumption of fossil fuels,” says Jesper Krogh Jensen, who is chief engineer at Baltic Sea Solutions, a strategic partner with Lolland municipality in a variety of climate projects in the area.

Vestenskov hydrogen society has already attracted international attention and is regularly visited by research organisations and companies that would like to take a closer look at the technology. And Lolland’s mayor also hopes that it can attract research environments to the area.

“We won’t save the world with this project, but if we show that we can get small local communities to create and use energy in this way instead of being dependent on oil, then we are making a difference,” says Stig Vestergaard.

http://www.lolland.ctf.dk

An energetic rural community

In Thisted, the main town in the Danish region of Thy, they are focusing strongly on the environment. To attract new resourceful inhabitants to the area, and because it is good for the economy.

Way out west in Denmark, where the merciless western wind howls, a number of local people meet to talk about how they can exploit its limitless energy and other local resources such as biomass and water for the good of the environment, not to mention their wallets. Because it has become a sport to be good to Mother Nature. The inhabitants of Thisted municipality emit an average 8.6 tons of CO2 annually, while the per capita annual average for Denmark as a whole is 12 tons.

Thisted municipality has created the framework for a local initiative ’Energetic Citizens of Thy’, and makes sure that those who have already engaged in making a difference for the environment attend the public meetings and spread knowledge of the climate-related initiatives that pay.

So far there have been three public meetings where energy and environment have been at the centre of debate.

“We want to strengthen our climate-related initiatives, make it more attractive to live in rural districts, and strengthen the business community. And who can do that? Those who live there,” says Jan Krogh, head of business and development in Thisted Municipality.

The municipality has made its very own model for good investments:

“In order for the efforts to succeed there must be local involvement, the best technology must be available, and it must give results on the bottom line,” says Otto Lægaard, manager of the ’Energetic Citizens of Thy’ project.

The municipality has 45,000 inhabitants, 235 wind turbines and the first geothermal plant in Denmark.

Thisted is already 100 per cent self-sufficient in electricity generated from renewable energy, and 85 per cent of its heating comes from non-fossil fuels.

These fine results led to the municipality being awarded ’The European Solar Prize’ two years ago because of its advancements in renewable energy. But Thisted wants to do even more.

At two of the public meetings, it was proposed to start locally producing household wind turbines, which can be installed in back gardens. The project can create both renewable energy and local jobs.

One of the energetic citizens of Thy has set up a small innovation centre, where he brings together those individuals who would like to further develop the project.

“Before the meetings, they didn’t know that they had some of the same ideas, or that there was someone who had a factory area where they could actually make some prototypes of the wind turbines and test them,” says Otto Lægaard.

P, Ernie & Enzo

by Kit Kjølhede Laursen http://www.kit-k.com

Good environment means good economics

In Skive they are unrivalled in Denmark for bringing down CO2 emissions. And that is good for the municipality’s coffers.

52 solar heating plants provide heat for all public buildings in Skive municipality in Denmark. This and many other initiatives have made the municipality one of the towns which will be specially marketed in connection with COP15. Both the municipality and private citizens are behind the initiatives. The background to doing something special for the environment is very much about economics. Because it pays to be good to the environment. So far the municipality has invested DKK 38 million (EUR 5.1 million) in energy-saving measures, and DKK 54 million (EUR 7.25 million) has returned to the municipality’s coffers simply because the operating costs of the solar heating plants are less than the original heating costs.

The long-term objective is to make the municipality CO2 neutral, and the environmentally-friendly initiatives have been going on for three decades. The municipality is unrivalled in Denmark for saving on CO2 emissions. A citizen in Skive emits an average 6.7 tons of CO2 annually – around half the average for Denmark as a whole.

“The driving force has been to make sensible investments. We do not believe that you can implement the project without it being financially cost-effective,” says Karl Krogshede, a climate coordinator in Skive Municipality.

The municipality has looked to Samsø to find out where the main CO2 culprits are hiding.

Skive municipality is one of three Danish municipalities, which Connie Hedegaard, the Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, in 2008 has appointed ’Energy City’. Here she presents the Mayor of Skive with an ’Energy City’ diploma. Photo: Skive Kommune.

“Samsø has been one of our sources of inspiration. We have visited Samsø and seen their different plants,” says Karl Krogshede.

Skive municipality is building one of Denmark’s largest solar cell plants, erecting wind turbines and carrying out work with biofuel to reach the objective of being a CO2 neutral municipality in twenty years. And on a basic practical level, the municipality is working hard to encourage residents to improve energy efficiency in their homes, because that can make a really big difference.

“We can save 14 per cent of the municipality’s total CO2 emissions through energy improvements to homes,” says Karl Krogshede.

It corresponds to an annual saving of 26,000 tons of CO2. Through improvements to insulation, the municipality expects to reduce the average dwelling’s annual heating consumption by at least 50 per cent, equivalent to a reduction of 0.9 tons of CO2 per citizen.

“When you look at the total result, it is a really big saving. And it is not enough just to replace the energy sources, we also have to bring our consumption down,” says Karl Krogshede.

The municipality takes care of training craftsmen in how to make old houses more climate-friendly, so that homeowners do not need to pay them to become
acquainted with how to insulate houses in the best possible way. And that makes it attractive for the local population to invest money in looking after the environment.

“We train more craftsmen so that they can go out and do the job at a sensible price.

We do not give citizens a direct subsidy, but we give them good guidance on what pays and what doesn’t. We encourage them to make an investment in this because it pays,” says Karl Krogshede.

In recent years the municipality has accumulated extensive knowledge of how to make energy improvements – and the dream is that not only other municipalities, but also foreign countries will learn from the environmental battles that Skive has won.

TIME Magazine named Samsø islander Søren Hermansen one of its 2008 “Heroes of the Environment”. Photo: Elverkongensdatter

There are no radiators or wood-burning stoves in Olav Langenkamp’s house, but the walls are as thick as a strongroom’s and the heating bill is just DKK 150 (EUR 20) per month. An average house can easily cost DKK 1,000 (EUR 134) monthly to heat. The Langenkamp family lives in what is termed a passive house. It is so well-insulated that it needs almost no heating. All the lamps are fitted with energy saving bulbs and the white goods are energy label A – which means that they use the minimum amount of electricity.

Olav Langenkamp has designed the house himself. And for him it was not just to be “good to the environment” which made him launch into the project, but also because it was a professional challenge.

Why did you want to design and build a passive house for your family?

“I am not a big eco-freak. It was more the challenge as an architect – to build an environmentally-friendly house which is also architect-designed. Very few people believed that it was possible to build a passive house. But we have succeeded in making the first certificated passive house in Denmark. And we have proved that you can have an extremely modern design with glass facades and be energy-efficient at the same time.”

What does it mean to you and your family that you have chosen an environmentally friendly solution?

“It means that we are largely independent of price increases for gas and oil. The costs are so low in a passive house that it is peanuts. It costs DKK 150 (EUR 20) per month to heat the house, and our electricity consumption has also reduced somewhat. We save about 80 per cent on heating in relation to an average house that complies with building regulations.”

It was mainly the professional challenge that drove architect Olav Langenkamp to build his low-energy house. Photo: Olav Langenkamp

Denmark might be known for its Little Mermaid, wind turbines and perhaps its dairy products – but sunshine is not something it is readily associated with. So one can wonder that solar heating is a benefit in a country like Denmark, where wind and rain are frequent guests. But the sun emits heat even when the sky is overcast. And it is certainly worth it to exploit the sun.

14 years ago, carpenter Henry Toft Nielsen started building his own solar heating plant, not because he had great visions to save the environment, but because he was tired of his old furnace which required far too much of his time. And the solar heating plant looks after itself completely.

Henry Toft Nielsen’s old furnace caused him a lot of work. So – out of laziness, he says – he built solar heating panels on his roof. Photo: Suna Borgaard

Henry Nielsen has encountered occasional sceptical looks, because many think that the plant can only be used during the warm summer months. But that is not at all the case. The plant covers the family’s total consumption of heating and hot water for seven months of the year.

Why did you build a solar heating plant?

“It was actually pure laziness. It was because my furnace has always been a bit slow, so it required a lot of energy from me when we needed heating. My objective was to skip the effort as much as possible and let the sun do the heating instead.”

What does it mean to you that it is an environmentally friendly solution you have chosen?

“Personally, that is not the kind of thought I have. I think that if I save energy, then I save money. But I like using something that is already there, and there is plenty of solar heat. You don’t need to add energy to it for it to work. The sun shines and emits heat whether you want it or not.”

Henry Toft Nielsen got the idea for the solar heating plant back in 1991. He looked at different plants, but didn’t think they were good enough. So he built one himself that suited his needs.

Way out west in Denmark, one is often hit by the western wind which is known for being quite fierce. And it can be difficult to figure out what to use it for. But Hans Christian Jeppesen has found a good answer. In his back garden stands a wind turbine – a Danish produced household wind turbine – which can produce almost twice as much electricity as the whole family needs. And quite a lot is needed because in addition to Hans Christian Jeppesen, the family consists of his wife and five children. The wind turbine was installed in autumn 2008 and cost the family a total of DKK 310,000 (EUR 42,000), which they reckon will be recovered in seven to eight years. The wind turbine has a service life of 20 years. The family has calculated that it will save the environment about 20 tons of CO2 annually.

Why did you choose to install a household wind turbine?

“We are a large family and we use the computer, watch television etc. We thought we were using too much electricity and were a bit embarrassed about it. But this is also about what kind of life we would like to lead. We cannot and will not do without energy.”

What does it mean to you to do something special for the environment?

“It gives us a slightly better conscience. It is good to know that the electricity we use doesn’t come from coal, but from the wind. The wind turbine can run peacefully in the back garden and produce all the electricity we can use and a bit more. It is a major investment, but the economics are good. And the children are proud of us having a wind turbine.”

And the environmental involvement doesn’t stop here. The family soon intends to replace one of their two cars with an electric car. Right now they are waiting for an electric car with space for four adults to roll onto the Danish market.

The Jeppesen family would like to use electricity with a good conscience. The windmill running peacefully in the back garden is part of that solution. Photo: Suna Borgaard.

With wind as the standard bearer

RESEARCH | RENEWABLE ENERGY

By Morten Andersen

According to legend, Denmark got its red and white national flag when it fell from the sky during a battle in Estonia in 1219. It aerial arrival was seen as a sign of divine support, and the Danes duly triumphed. If something similar happened today, Danes would probably regard the fluttering flag as an indicator of unusual wind conditions, and send a team of technicians to calculate the economics of building a wind farm there!

At Risø DTU, the National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, researchers can calculate wind resources at most localities in the world 20 years ahead in time with an accuracy of ±5 per cent. These calculations are crucial in persuading investors to breeze down to the bank and borrow the money to build a wind farm. Danish research organisations have over half of the world market for wind software and have set the de facto standard that everyone in the industry uses. At the same time they continuously improve their methods to further increase accuracy and cover more geographical areas.

The example shows that although Denmark leads the world in the wind industry, there are certainly no signs of easing up on the intensity of research. On the contrary, more research is being conducted than ever before – but the areas of research have changed.

“Since power production from wind fluctuates, and since we do not have an efficient way of storing the energy, imbalances between production and consumption will inevitably occur. You can get around this through agreements with foreign countries, but it would be a lot more expedient also to activate the resources that are integrated in the electricity grid,” says Professor Jacob Østergaard of the Centre for Electric Technology at the Technical University of Denmark.

Electric cars help wind power

Jacob Østergaard heads a major research project on the Danish island of Bornholm. The island, which is home to about 1 per cent of Denmark’s 5.5 million population, has been chosen both for its manageable size and the fact that a third of its electricity already comes from wind power. Bornholm today resembles how Denmark as a whole could be in a few years, following the political decision that wind power will account for 50 per cent of Danish electricity consumption.

This year and in 2010, an intelligent electricity system – professionals use the expression “Smart Grid” – will be designed for Bornholm. In 2011, the system will be implemented on the island, which will at the same time be supplied with electric cars sourced from abroad. The interesting thing about the test is not the cars, but how they will affect the electricity system.

Why does the combination of wind power and electric cars require that the electricity system becomes intelligent? Consumers will typically charge their cars when they come home from work, thus adding further to the peak consumption that occurs when families switch on lights, the TV and electric cookers. So the system must be designed in such a way that the charging station at the consumer’s home is able to draw electricity in the middle of the night at times when there is plenty of inexpensive wind-generated electricity available.

The test will also be valid for other energy sources than wind – for example solar cells, where energy production varies depending on natural conditions.

“Denmark will probably be the first country in the world to solve this type of problem on such a large scale. As more countries expand their wind power, solar cell systems and similar energy sources, the experience gained in Denmark will become increasingly more interesting to the world,” foresees Jacob Østergaard.

Illustration: Lars Chrois

Turning wind into synthetic fuel

The Danish researchers do not think however that an intelligent electricity system can solve all the problems by itself. At Risø DTU, they are working on a new concept which can exploit surplus electricity from wind turbines. Using electrolysis it is possible to split the water molecule, which consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Both hydrogen and oxygen are useful, but in an energy context hydrogen is particularly interesting. It can for example be exploited in a fuel cell, which can be used to run a car or function as a mini power plant for a house. And there are no emissions of CO2 or other greenhouse gases when hydrogen is used as fuel.

What is new is that hydrogen can be produced a lot more efficiently by carrying out the electrolysis at high temperatures. This is only possible using electrolysis cells of predominantly ceramic materials – a technology very much inspired by the development of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC), on which Risø DTU has long collaborated with Danish company Topsoe Fuel Cell. Simply stated, an electrolysis cell is a fuel cell running in reverse. Whereas a fuel cell produces electricity and water from a chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen, the opposite happens with electrolysis. The type of electrolysis which Risø DTU is studying involves a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide called synthesis gas, which can be used to produce methanol as a synthetic fuel for internal combustion engines.

“So it is a way to produce synthetic fuel for example for the transport sector where it can replace fossil fuels,” says the head of the programme, Professor Søren Linderoth. “It is very attractive to be able to exploit electricity from renewable energy sources as fuel for cars. Everything suggests that electrolysis will gain ground. At the same time we know that high temperature electrolysis is more efficient than electrolysis at ambient temperature.”

Sugar beet makes a comeback

An extra benefit of producing hydrogen from the electrolysis of water is that oxygen is formed as a by-product. The oxygen can for example be used in an integrated energy system, where gasification of bio-mass also forms part. Gasification requires oxygen, which is normally obtained from the air. But along with the oxygen in the air comes 80 per cent nitrogen. That is dead weight when air is pumped round in the system. Higher energy efficiency is achieved using pure oxygen instead.

Biogas is also a Danish speciality. At research centre Foulum in mid-Jutland, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences under the University of Aarhus is running one of the world’s largest experimental biogas facilities. Along with other partners in a project, they are experimenting with sugar beet, where energy and agricultural production are studied from a completely new angle. The basic idea is that the beet is initiall pressed by a simple mechanical process to extract a sugary juice which can be converted into bioethanol by fermentation. Bioethanol is in demand on the world market as a climate-friendly and renewable energy source. Remaining after the pressing is a mush – a pulp – which can be used as cattle feed.

Globe Ale is Denmark’s first CO2 neutral beer, brewed to celebrate Nørrebro Bryghus in Copenhagen becoming the country’s first CO2 neutral brewery.

“In our experiments we have achieved outputs of up to 26 tons of dry matter per hectare. In comparison, you get at best 15-18 tons of dry matter per hectare when you grow maize. Sugar beet is therefore a more effective crop, that is when you focus on combined production of feed and biomass for energy purposes,” says project manager Karl Martin Schelde of CBMI in Agro Business Park, which is located next to the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences under the University of Aarhus. In addition to forming part of the solution to climate problems, this production will also be attractive to many Danish farmers, opines Karl Martin Schelde:

“Until a few years ago, sugar beet represented a large proportion of Danish agricultural production. Now beet is largely outperformed by especially maize, but Danish farmers still have major know-how in growing beet. So for them it just a matter of pressing the “play” button, when our experiments show that you can achieve good economics by growing beet for combined use as a feed and energy crop.”

Danish energy technologies

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Algae to combat climate change

By Flemming Johannesen

While the use of algae in cosmetics, neutraceuticals and other high value products is common and commercially viable, making a business out of cultivating algae for producing biofuel is still quite a novel endeavour. According to Dr. Jonathan Trent, Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the production of biofuel from algae could very well become a trillion dollar industry, providing a significant contribution to the world’s liquid fuel needs.

“The oil industry is 150 years old and it is a two trillion dollar industry. We have to find a replacement within ten years for oil or we are going to have serious problems” says the American professor, who believes that the sense of urgency can be turned into an advantage. The challenge is for scientists to figure out within a very short time span just how practical it is to grow algae from a biological, economical and technical, as well as environmental, point of view.

During a three-day workshop, a multidisciplinary group comprising scientists, engineers, economists, and policy-makers explored and evaluated, discussed and debated, if offshore algae production is feasible, scalable, environmentally acceptable, and cost-effective.

An offspring of an ongoing collaboration between the municipality of Lolland and the city of Santa Cruz, California to promote sustainable development and climate change mitigation, the workshop convened to consider the potential of offshore algae cultivation.

“The offshore wind farms off the coast of Lolland represent an incredible opportunity of an infrastructure for developing an offshore algae farm with all the advantages that might have” says Dr. Trent as he points to the 11 wind turbines off the northern coast of Lolland, which when installed in 1991 became the world’s first offshore wind farm with a production capacity of 5 MW.

Potentially big business

Algae offer great promise as a biofuel resource because it grows very fast – much faster than plants like soybean, palm, and corn currently being used for biofuel production – and they have a much higher yield of oil per unit area.

“To put it in perspective, the oil that we now get from land crops like rape seed is about 160 gallons per acre (1,500 litres per hectare) per year. Soy is about 50 gallons per acre (468 litres per hectare) per year. Algae would produce on the order of 2,000 gallons per acre (18,700 litres per hectare) per year” Dr. Trent explains.

Another advantage is that cultivation of algae does not require arable land and therefore does not compete with traditional agriculture or displace food crops.

The conclusion from the workshop was that Lolland has the potential to become an international test centre for the development of biofuels from algae.

Why Lolland?

What makes Lolland an ideal testing site is not only its wind farms and location on the shallow and relatively calm Baltic Sea, but also the people inhabiting the island. Like the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, Dr. Trent believes that all great discoveries begin with enthusiasm, and enthusiasm he has found a great deal of on Lolland.

Given the topography of Lolland, fear of flooding would seem a natural driver for the enthusiasm that over the course of the past ten years has created a small scale green revolution on the island.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that an increase in temperature of two degrees Celsius will cause a rise in sea levels of almost a metre, entailing flooding of low lying areas around the world. Lolland is such a low lying area. Indeed, one third of the island would be flooded in the event of a rise in sea level of more than a metre. Much of the southwestern part of the island used to be sea bed and thus covered by water. It was only after a storm surge that claimed the lives of 82 people in 1872 that some 700 islanders decided to build a dyke stretching 63 kilometres along the southern shoreline.

Today, local renewables cover the entire electricity need of the island and 75% of heating needs. The enthusiasm that has driven the island of Lolland to go green, however, is not fear of the potential impact of global warming, but much more immediate and tangible problems.

From adversity to opportunity

When the shipyard in the port town of Nakskov – at one time in the 1960s employing as many as 2,200 people – closed down in 1987, Lolland in general and Nakskov in particular was faced with quite a challenge. An outer region of Denmark with soaring unemployment, the island struggled to make ends meet.

Part of the turnaround came in the late 1990s when local authorities in the western part of Lolland made a conscious decision to focus on attracting companies working in the field of clean technology. Leo Christensen, Project Director in the municipality of Lolland explains what the local authorities have done to provide optimum conditions for fast track and sustainable industrial development:

 “We simply decided to take the old shipyard which was closed down and turn it into a maritime logistic area. And we were lucky. Within a few weeks we got the first contract with Vestas Wind Systems producing wind turbines and then things took off”, explains Leo Christensen, Project Director in the municipality of Lolland. A subsequent decision not to build any plant without installing components enabling it to be used as a testing facility made a perfect marriage between the needs of industry and the municipality’s vision for sustainable growth and development. For example, half of the local power plant with a total production capacity of 20 MW is used by researchers to test components to make the generation of power more efficient.

Algae as part of green growth

Given Lolland’s innovative and green recent history it is no coincidence that the island is to host the world’s first International Workshop on Offshore Algal Energy. The planned algae research and development facility is just the latest addition to the many facilities on Lolland that enable full-scale testing and demonstration of clean technologies.

The Mayor of Lolland, Stig Vestergaard, hopes that an offshore algae energy research and development facility can become an asset for the island and help create more green collar jobs. An R&D facility plays in well with Lolland’s vision to become a modern and sustainable society, which implies an international outlook and cooperation across borders to take on global environment and energy challenges.

Photos: Flemming Johannesen

Danish NGOs fight to protect the climate

PRESSURE FROM NGO’S

By Anna Mogensen

When the global climate agreement is negotiated in Copenhagen in December, the host nation Denmark will have had no more or less influence on the final text than any other nation.

But the Danish setting for the negotiations can help exert influence on decision-makers to sign an ambitious climate agreement. Denmark is an exhibition window for future energy-efficient technologies that form part of the solution to reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases. So says Finn Mortensen, who is chairman of Climate Consortium Denmark, a public-private sector partnership which acts as a spearhead for climate and energy solutions from Danish technology companies.

“For the past 20 years, Denmark has shown that it is possible to keep energy consumption constant while creating economic growth. The better we are at drawing attention to Denmark’s exemplary climate and energy technologies at COP15, the more international awareness our solutions will gain. It might inspire the negotiators to say that it is possible to get an agreement in place,” says Finn Mortensen.

Climate Consortium Denmark’s task is to brand the Danish climate-friendly technology sector, and has no vested interests in influencing specific points in a new climate agreement.

“We have no influence on the COP15 agenda, but of course the greater the focus on climate friendly technological solutions, the better it will be for Denmark. We have a leading position in wind power and are very good in the biomass area. We will demonstrate these core competences to journalists and international commercial decision-makers to put Denmark front of mind when investment choices need to be made and climate-friendly solutions focused on,” explains Finn Mortensen.

Fair climate agreement

A number of Danish non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are leading the way to ensure that a new climate agreement will benefit the poorest developing countries, which will be hardest hit by climate change. The 92 Group is a Danish umbrella organisation that unites the interests of Danish developing-country and environmental organisations around a shared agenda of development and climate. The objective is to help steer COP15 negotiations towards a new agreement that ensures that developing countries get sufficient money and technology to tackle the climate challenge.

“Firstly, we want a climate agreement that enables us to keep the global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius. Secondly, we want a fair agreement where the rich countries take the lead in reducing their CO2 emissions and ensure transfer of money and technology to the developing countries,” explains Troels Dam Kristensen, the coordinator of the 92 Group.

At COP15, the main task of the 92 Group is to do lobby work and closely follow the political negotiations. While poor coordination between parties often impairs efficient action in working to curb climate change, the 92 Group exemplifies how Danish NGOs aim to coordinate their activities with international NGOs before and during the climate summit.

“Besides closely following the international climate negotiations, our task is also to follow up on the political initiatives in this country,” says Troels Dam Kristensen, who continues:

“We ensure contact with the international NGO network and Danish decision-makers to coordinate the NGOs’ viewpoints and reach shared views on how we relate to major issues such as financing and climate adaptation in the developing countries.”

Wind power is showing its worth

Denmark needs powerful supporters who see the potential of wind power as an alternative to fossil fuels in the energy of the future. When US President Obama praises Denmark as a pioneering country, leading the way in wind power, it is an invaluable tribute. Because the message is that Danish wind turbines have already won the wager that sustainable energy should be part of a new climate agreement at the COP15 negotiations in Copenhagen. So opines the Danish Wind Industry Association.

“To us it is important that there will be an agreement in Copenhagen which focuses on the solutions that are available here and now. With wind power it is possible to supply 12 per cent of the world’s electricity consumption by 2020 and reduce CO2 emissions by 10 billion tons in the period leading up to it. Wind power has already shown its worth,” says Anders Dalegaard, project manager at the Danish Wind Industry Association.

The Wind Power Works campaign, which the association is running together the Global Wind Energy Council, shows through a number of selected case stories how wind power is already one of the solutions to the climate challenge.

“The campaign is targeted at political decision-makers and civil servants who need to obtain information on wind power. We do that through 12 case stories, which focus on the economic and climate-related benefits of using wind power,” says Dalegaard. “Wind power is not just a European or North American project, but functions worldwide. We have cases from Egypt, India and Brazil precisely because political decision-makers need look no further than their own neighbourhoods to see that wind power is also a solution for them.”

The 12 cases can be seen on http://www.windpowerworks.net

A message to the negotiators

The Danish Society for Nature Conservation takes the targeted view that CO2 emissions should be reduced by 50 percent by 2030, compared to the 1990 level.

The aim is that energy consumption in buildings and in the transport sector should be halved by 2025, and renewable energy should account for at least 50 per cent of total energy consumption by 2025.

The society is heading The Copenhagen Climate Exchange exhibition in the days leading up to COP15.

The event provides a meeting place and an exhibition space for cities, municipalities, grassroots organisations and companies from around the world. The displays will showcase local climate-friendly solutions and ordinary people’s own contributions in everyday life that make a positive difference in reducing CO2 emissions.

The Copenhagen Climate Exchange, which will be held in the Øksnehallen exhibition venue, will send a message to the negotiators and the rest of the world that the climate challenge should not be tackled just through technical formulations and complex political agreements, but also through everyday practical solutions where ordinary people have an influence.

“Our climate efforts at COP15 have two purposes. One is that to achieve specific results, citizens, municipalities and organisations must join forces and join in. The other is to send a signal to the international negotiations that people really want a far-reaching agreement achieved,” says Susanne Herfelt, deputy director of the Danish Society for Nature Conservation.

From May to October 2009, the society is also organising nine Local Climate Summits across Denmark in collaboration with nine municipalities.

Local decision-makers and citizens will meet to prepare a number of recommendations to make local improvements that can benefit the climate.

The climate recommendations from the Local Climate Summits will be collated and presented to the Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, Connie Hedegaard, prior to COP15.

The public’s voice counts

The Climate Movement of Denmark is one of the most recently formed organisations that puts the climate challenge on the agenda. It is a grassroots movement to combat global warming and fight for an ambitious climate policy in Denmark and internationally.

It primarily targets the climate challenge and seeks to encourage ordinary citizens to take personal responsibility and make an effort for the climate in their everyday lives. Its agenda is also to pressurise politicians to take decisions in the direction of more CO2 neutral and sustainable development.

“We must help persuade politicians to acquaint themselves with the environment and climate policy the people want,” says Thomas Meinert Larsen, spokesman for the Climate Movement of Denmark.

The organisation is a member of the Public Climate Forum, which will hold a comprehensive climate conference for grass-roots organisations, associations and citizens’ organisations in parallel with the official summit in Copenhagen.

“A large number of environmental and grassroots organisations are represented and will make an independent proposal to tackle the climate challenge. The decisions that will be made during COP15 must be put into perspective against the decisions made by the NGOs, and it will be an important focus for us that knowledge is exchanged with all the parties involved,” says Thomas Meinert Larsen.

The Danish Government’s goals for COP15

The Danish Government's goal is to enter into a binding global climate agreement at the United Nations Conference in Copenhagen. The agreement will apply to the period after 2012.

The government’s ambition is for the agreement to include as many countries as possible, and that the agreement must contribute to a reduction in man-made greenhouse gases which have a negative effect on our climate system.

The government will therefore put all its efforts into obtaining an agreement that combines respect for the environment, living standards and long-term security of energy supply in the best way possible.

Read more on http://www.COP15.dk

Danish Economy

A glimmer of hope

By chief economist Steen Bocian, Danske Bank

The Danish economy is in the midst of the worst crisis since World War II. Last year, GDP fell by 1.2% – indicating that Denmark was one of the first European countries to be affected by the global financial and economic crisis. This year looks like it will be even worse. Economists expect a drop in economic activity
of 2.5-3%, as a picture emerges of an economic decline worse than during the oil crises of the 1970s.

There is no doubt that Danish economy is under pressure. But that said, we are also beginning to see the first signs that the worst of the economic crisis is behind us. Private consumption showed a modest increase in the first three months of the year – and consumer confidence, which dropped sharply in autumn 2008, has started returning to more normal levels. Since global industry conditions also seem to be on the turn, we anticipate the first small shoots of economic progress in the second half of 2009.

The upturn in consumption is closely connected with the substantial drop in interest rates we have seen in recent months, especially in short-term interest rates. Since December, the interest rate on floating-rate mortgage bonds has more than halved – and although it is not record-cheap to borrow money, it is very close to it. Lower interest rates have great penetration power in Denmark. The continuously well-functioning mortgage credit market ensures that despite the credit crisis, Danes have access to financing and now also to very low interest rates. If you look at loans that Danes take out, mortgage loans dominate. On the private side, there are four times as many mortgage loans as bank loans, while on the business side mortgage loans are on a par with personal loans.

In addition to lower interest rates, economic policy is also playing a role.

A reduction of taxation of DKK 5 billion (EUR 672 million) was implemented from 1st January – and since then the government has legislated for further tax reductions next year. When added to an unfinanced reduction of taxes of almost 1% of GDP in 2010, there is a basis for good progress in private consumption over the next quarters.

But an economy that seems to be nearing the bottom does not equate with an impending turnaround for the labour market. Quite the opposite. Unemployment has already increased significantly – and will in all likelihood continue to rise for the rest of this year and next year. We probably need to reach the end of 2010 before
we can hope for growth being sufficient to stabilise the labour market. Rising unemployment naturally provides a risk that the turnaround will never come, but our assessment is that the economic policy will help ensure that it does come.

While it was difficult three months ago to see even a glimmer of hope, a picture of modest progress is beginning to emerge. That is not the same as saying the crisis has ended – but we have to start somewhere, and Denmark is likely to be one of the countries in Europe which will come through the crisis most rapidly, since the large interest sensitivity and a continuously well-functioning mortgage credit market give a much needed helping hand.

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Next Issue

What to expect...

Photos: Scanpix

Your next Focus Denmark is out on October 31, 2009

Making shipping more environmentally-friendly is not only about electronic monitoring of equipment or paints that allow the hull to glide more easily through the water. Research is also being done on the logistic side of transportation through the optimising of shipping routes, can help save on fuel and thus reduce CO2 emissions. The October issue of Focus Denmark takes a detailed look at the interplay between research into green shipping and the major Danish shipping companies.

Welfare technology is a new term that covers design and development of aids and appliances in the nursing sector, and is an area in which Danish companies are particularly strong. In the next issue you can read more about the new technologies in this area, together with the latest news from Danish research into age-related illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

What is it like being a foreign researcher or student in Denmark? What courses are offered? What about language? The next issue provides the answers to these questions and a lot more. We also report on WaveStar Energy’s wave power machine in the North Sea – as well as our In Brief section with short news stories about Denmark.

The October issue will also be supplemented by Zooming In, which looks at Denmark’s global responsibility.