The Danes are an interesting lot. They publish research proving that polar ice and polar bears are fine while being all in on the not-so-renewable energy fad. They were big on the wind before there was a big wind, and for years, it has been painfully evident that it’s not going to work, but they kept doing it.
Wind power has been highly subsidized in Denmark. They’ve got a tax on top of the increasingly high cost of electricity. In 2016, they projected this tax would cost the nation’s residents and businesses 70 billion kroner over the next decade. That’s just to sustain wind as a primary source of energy. There have been tweaks and changes, including decommissioning turbines (to cut costs), but It’s 2024, and things are still all downhill and not in a good way.
Last week, Brian Vad Mathiesen one of Denmark’s leading professors in 100% renewable energy systems, sounded the alarm over possible power shortages. Ironically, he’s one of the same individuals that for many years recommended a 100% RE system.
This 100% RE system represents the kind of academic tabletop exercise that has led us to this outcome.
This comes after the Danish TSO Energinet published its annual report on Security of Supply, which makes the argument: In the future Denmark will face serve power needs.
Denmark is also expected to have the lowest domestic security of supply in the future. In 2034 Energinet expects domestic production in Denmark only being able to cover around 25-40% of its consumption in the most critical hour.
High cost, low interest, poor energy security, and it can’t be expanded without guarantees of subsidies.
Since this is about greening the planet, at least in all the glossy tri-fold brochures, Denmark has had to supplement the dearth with increased energy production from biomass. If you recall our recent ridicule of Vermont, Biomass is incredibly dirty and a significant source of emissions. They say we need wind turbines to reduce this. Vermont “gets away with it” by not counting those emissions or the ones offshored to make the wind machines even possible.
It’s all a stupid, expensive grift, and Denmark is the poster child for how badly it will fail.
