Mundus Nordic Green News – 16 February, 2021

“Despite risks, the Danish energy islands are the right decision”

Two week’s ago, Denmark’s politicians agreed to underpin a massive project to build an artificial energy island in the North Sea, with a price tag of DKK 200 billion (€27 billion). Given the scale of the investment for a country of just 6 million, with its associated technical and financial risks, it is a controversial decision. The Chairman of Energinet, Denmark’s transmission system operator, Mogens Lykketoft, took to defending the vision. The arguments explain the rationale for Denmark’s initiative, and therefore are cited at length.

 

Lykketoft argued in information.dk, “The decision to establish two energy islands in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea is accused of being a bold and high-risk project. But even though risks are involved, we must act now if the green transition is to succeed in Europe. Major decisions must be made now if Denmark for many decades after 2030 is to contribute even more to the global climate solution - and as an export nation reap good jobs and earnings from supplying cheap renewable energy to a far greater extent than we ourselves can use.

 

Of course, there is a lot of uncertainty attached to investments that are going to stretch over the next 30 years. But we know that Europe will need huge amounts of renewable energy to phase out the use of fossil fuels by 2050. Not just lights and heating, but all cars, machines in households and businesses must either be powered directly on green power from the contacts or - when it is heavy vehicles, ships and planes - powered by liquid green fuels. The latter requires huge amounts of cheap green electricity for electrolysis, which converts water into hydrogen and on to other green fuels. Which is called Power-to-X .

 

We also know that Denmark has a global leading position to safeguard in the development of huge offshore wind turbines, and that we have a larger sea area than most other European countries, from which power supply at an affordable transmission price can be drawn to the major European energy consumers.

 

Finally, we know that it takes more than a decade to invest enough to maintain this position. Therefore, most experts agree that it is now that the plans must be made for the giant offshore wind farms, and it is now that we must start building the energies to which the power of the turbines is to be sent, and from where we in Energinet will send the power on in cables to land - both in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and hopefully Poland. Energinet is now immediately starting work on the project, so the island and the cables out there are ready by 2033.”

 

Aker Hydrogen to invest NOK 60 million into green company

Aker Clean Hydrogen Operating Company, will invest NOK 60.5 million into Greenstat, a developer of hydrogen and other projects in Norway. Aker will receive an ownership share of 23%. Greenstat founder Vegard Frihammer said, “It is positive for us to have a strong industrial owner on the team,” pointing out that the company has capital-intensive projects in the future and that the company with Aker will bring in a strategic and heavy investor.

 

Call on Carbon Initiative launched by Nordic business organisations

Finland-based Climate Leadership Coalition, Sweden's Haga Initiative, and Norway's Skift Business Climate Leaders together with BCSD Portugal and CER – Sustainable Business Network Slovenia launched the 'Call on Carbon' initiative to ramp up climate investments and effective carbon pricing. The signatories call on governments to back their net zero targets with "effective, robust, reliable, and fit-for-purpose" carbon pricing instruments, and to finalise the rules for the international market mechanisms under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. "We urge governments to act on this during 2021 and in doing so support COP26 in Glasgow and make it a true game changer," the organisations said in a press release.

 

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