6 March, 2023

Today's Top Nordic Green News:

• Ørsted joins the Global Offshore Wind Alliance to help governments realise the full potential of offshore wind
• Energy efficiency neglected in fight to cut emissions, warns Danfoss boss

Ørsted joins the Global Offshore Wind Alliance to help governments realise the full potential of offshore wind

Ørsted has joined a global offshore wind alliance to help governments realise the full potential of offshore wind. The alliance was established last year at COP27 by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and the Danish government. In joining GOWA, Ørsted wants to disseminate its knowledge and promote the best solutions and thus contribute to realising the alliance's ambition of an installed offshore wind capacity of at least 380 GW in 2030 and an increase in the installed capacity of at least 70 GW per year from 2030.

Press release

Energy efficiency neglected in fight to cut emissions, warns Danfoss boss

The chief executive of Danish energy company Danfoss, Kim Fausing, has criticised policymakers for neglecting energy efficiency as a tool to lower emissions, while overly focusing on boosting renewable power. He said while there was “good understanding and urgency” on building up renewable power, there was not enough attention on energy efficiency issues such as reusing excess heat from industrial processes. Fausing pointed out that one-third of decarbonisation had to come from energy efficiency, and although this often wasnt sexy, it was difficult to understand why it wasn't getting attention because the payback times on investments were very small. 

Danfoss, which is owned by its founding family and a related charitable foundation, has benefited from the green transition and sales last year increased by 36% to EUR 10.3 billion, while pre-tax profits rose by 16% to EUR 949 million. Danfoss has had particular success in the US where its sales have increased by almost 150% in the past 2 years. Fausing said the US was “more visionary” than Europe and that Europe needed to step up its game.

Financial Times

Ørsted's Skåne offshore wind farm gets positive permit notice

Danish energy group Ørsted has received another positive permit notice from the County Administrative Board for the company's planned offshore wind farm south of Skåne, which could cost up to SEK 50 billion. The Skåne offshore wind farm is estimated to have an output of 1,500 MW and an annual electricity production of around 7 TWh, which would provide an addition corresponding to half of Skåne's electricity consumption. 

The Natura 2000 trial outcome was essential for the County Administrative Board to forward the application to the Swedish government, as it was established to safeguard natural interests. The board has now confirmed a positive result, according to Ørsted. 

The company hopes that the Swedish government will quickly grant exclusivity and a permit for the project, which could be the starting point for a major offensive in Sweden. However, the project has faced opposition from the Swedish Armed Forces and other companies that have applied to build offshore wind projects in the same area. Ørsted is optimistic that the park, which was the first to apply, will receive government approval based on the first-come, first-served principle. Moreover, the company believes that a conditional permit could help to resolve objections from the Armed Forces and identify the best solution for the electricity grid connection. 

Di

Norwegian Yara secures grid capacity for Hegra project to produce green ammonia

Norwegian fertiliser producer Yara has been offered network capacity from Statnett to realise the Hegra project, which aims to electrify Yara's ammonia factory at Herøya in Porsgrunn. The project will require 4 TWh a year to produce green ammonia and will involve the installation of a 450 MW electrolyser over a period of five to seven years. By replacing natural gas with hydrogen produced using electrolysis to produce ammonia, the plan is to cut emissions by 800,000 tonnes of CO2 per year from Yara's production. The reserve capacity allocated by Statnett can be switched off if the total power consumption becomes too high.

Montel

Finnish Kemira and Metsä Group to develop new forest industry product

Finnish companies Kemira and Metsä Group have announced that they will work together to develop a new renewable product or raw material related to the forest industry by 2027. Both companies have set goals for reducing their environmental impact, and this joint effort is part of their commitment to sustainability. The collaboration will focus on new types of process and coating technologies made from renewable raw materials. The ultimate aim is to reduce the environmental impact of the entire forest industry's value chain.

Press Release

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What we’re reading

• ‘Everyone should be concerned’: Antarctic sea ice reaches lowest levels ever recorded (The Guardian)
• France mounts battle for nuclear energy in Europe (Financial Times)

France is making an aggressive push to promote nuclear power in the EU, seeking to rally allies for battles to come in a stand-off with Germany over the bloc’s energy policy. Paris on Tuesday persuaded 10 countries, including Hungary and Bulgaria, to join a “nuclear alliance” calling on Brussels to do more to back atomic energy, a move they argued would help meet climate goals while protecting the EU’s energy independence.

The establishment of the pro-nuclear group at a meeting in Stockholm, comes as France lobbies for concessions from the EU’s ambitious renewable power goals to obtain what would effectively be carve-outs for its nuclear industry, the mainstay of its electricity production. That has opened a rift with Germany and left other member states wondering if they will be forced to pick sides.

The disagreements are bleeding into a host of EU energy reforms, from a planned overhaul of electricity markets to how to promote hydrogen energy and renewables.

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