Denmark was an early leader in creating commercial wind power during the 1970s. Today, many wind turbines worldwide are made by Danish companies like Vestas, which is the largest wind-turbine maker, along with other suppliers of parts. As of 2022, Denmark has the second-highest amount of wind power generation capacity per person in the world, behind only Sweden.
In 2024, wind power provided 59.3% of all electricity in Denmark. This increased from 56% in 2020, 20% in 2010, and 11% in 2000. This progress helps Denmark work toward its goal of using 100% renewable energy for electricity by 2030.
In 2017, Denmark ranked fourth in the world for energy architecture performance, according to the World Economic Forum. In 2019, it ranked second in the world for energy security, based on the World Energy Council.
History
Danish inventor Poul la Cour worked on wind power projects, taught others about wind energy, and built wind power systems around the year 1900.
In the 1980s, as worries about global warming increased, Denmark had high carbon dioxide emissions per person. This was mainly because coal-fired power plants became common after energy crises in 1973 and 1979. To solve this, Denmark chose renewable energy, which helped reduce reliance on other countries for energy and lower pollution from global warming.
Many countries tried to support green energy like wind power, but most failed to make it successful. Denmark was different. It helped pay for wind power projects by covering 30% of the initial cost in the early years. This percentage was later reduced to zero, but a system called a feed-in tariff remained. In June 1985, the cost subsidy was lowered to 20%, and wind turbines received DKK 50 million per year. Other renewable energy projects got 37 million. A research group called Teknologisk Institut found ways to improve wind power, moving development from random efforts to organized solutions.
On March 29, 1985, one year before the Chernobyl disaster, Denmark passed a law banning the building of nuclear power plants. A group of people in Denmark, called the Danish Anti-nuclear Movement, played a major role in this decision. Their logo, "Atomkraft, Nej Tak" ("Nuclear Power, No Thanks"), became well-known worldwide. Another group, the Danish Organisation for Renewable Energy (OVE), promoted wind power and other renewable energy sources.
Denmark set a goal to reduce carbon emissions by 22% from 1988 levels by 2005. Authorities made it easier to plan wind power projects to reduce delays.
In June 2005, the Danish government released a new energy plan called Energy Strategy 2025, replacing the 1996 plan. This strategy aimed to grow wind power and change how electricity was sold.
Between 2008 and 2011, the Danish government created energy agreements with strong support from many groups. These agreements included the most effective programs for expanding wind power. The agreements set a goal of having 20% of Denmark’s energy from renewable sources by 2011. They also raised the price for wind energy and planned to build new offshore wind turbines with a total power of 400 MW by 2012. The agreements included help for people living near wind turbines, rules for buying wind energy, and a fund to support projects.
After the government shared a long-term goal of making Denmark completely independent from fossil fuels, a commission on climate change proposed ways to achieve this in September 2010. This led to the Energy Strategy 2050 plan the next year. This plan had three parts, one focusing on more wind power, both on land and offshore. It included plans for more than 1000 MW of offshore wind power, including a project called Kriegers Flak in the Baltic Sea. Kriegers Flak connects Denmark and Germany with a 400 MW cable through the German Baltic 2 Offshore Wind Farm. It is the offshore wind farm with the lowest guaranteed price in Denmark. The rules for how far wind turbines must be from homes were also reviewed and changed. Programs that paid people living near wind turbines were no longer needed, and more attention was given to offshore areas.
Since the first energy agreement in 2008, which had strong support in parliament, Denmark increased the share of wind power in its electricity production from 19% to 55% by 2019.
For the policy approach, Denmark used a method called incrementalism, which helped develop wind power more effectively than some other countries.
Wind resources
Denmark has average wind speeds that are not very high, ranging from 4.9 to 5.6 meters per second at 10 meters above the ground. Onshore wind resources are strongest in the western part of the country and on eastern islands with coastlines facing south or west. Wind speeds are higher in autumn and winter and lower in summer. Denmark also has about 2.3 gigawatts of solar power. The country has large offshore wind resources, with many areas of shallow sea water (5–15 meters deep) where wind farms can be built. These areas have higher wind speeds, about 8.5 to 9.0 meters per second at 50 meters above the ground. There have not been any major problems from wind variability, though there is a temporary issue when connecting a large amount of offshore wind power to a weak part of the electricity network. Denmark’s wind resources were mapped in 1999 by EMD International A/S and Risø National Laboratory. The mapping used a grid with 200-meter spacing and models in WindPRO and WAsP. Results were checked using data from more than 1,200 wind turbines across the country.
Denmark is connected to other European countries (e.g., Cross-Skagerrak) through electricity lines. In 2015, the electricity connection level (how much power can be sent to other countries compared to total production) was 44%, and this has increased since then. Denmark has kept 6 gigawatts of traditional power plants, so it does not need extra peak-load plants to balance wind power. Instead, it buys additional power from neighbors when needed. With some improvements to the power grid, Denmark plans to use even more wind energy. In 2010, the goal was to have wind provide 50% of electricity use by 2020 (a target nearly met) and up to 84% by 2035.
Experts predict wind power will cost 30 øre per kilowatt-hour, with handling costs at 15 øre per kilowatt-hour. These costs are lower than those for coal and natural gas, which start at 55 øre per kilowatt-hour. Wind power often receives a lower price because it cannot adjust to changes in electricity demand.
Consumption related to wind power
Danish district heating plants use 100 petajoules of energy each year. However, most of this energy does not come from the 180 MW of electrode boilers in power plants or the 374 MW of large heat pumps. These boilers are only used to use up the power plant's electricity when prices are negative, to avoid paying taxes. Expanding wind-powered district heating is considered economically efficient when there are no taxes.
The number of household heat pumps has remained at 70,000 since 2015 because tax-free wood pellets are available. The goal of having 300,000 small heat pumps by 2035 is unlikely to be met. This may reduce the value of adding more wind power unless the electricity tax is lowered.
Installed capacities and production
In 2023, Denmark had 7,510 megawatts (MW) of wind power installed, with 4,860 MW from land-based (onshore) wind farms and 2,650 MW from sea-based (offshore) wind farms. At the end of 2015, Denmark had 5,070 MW of wind power installed. Denmark has the highest share of wind power in the world. In 2015, wind power provided 42% of Denmark’s electricity, an increase from 39% in 2014. In January 2014, wind power supplied over 61% of electricity, and in July 2015, it supplied 23%. Denmark also had 548 MW of solar power by 2015. On December 21, 2013, wind power produced 102% of Denmark’s electricity, and for one hour, it produced 135%.
In 2005, Denmark had 3,127 MW of wind power installed, which generated 23,810 terajoules (TJ) of energy, or 6.6 terawatt-hours (TW·h), with an average production of 755 MW and a capacity factor of 24%. By 2009, wind power capacity grew to 3,482 MW, mostly due to the 209 MW Horns Rev 2 offshore wind farm. In 2010, capacity increased to 3,752 MW, largely from the Rødsand II offshore wind farm.
In 2012, a coalition of Danish political parties agreed to increase offshore wind power capacity by 1,500 MW. This goal was achieved by building the 400 MW Anholt wind farm (2014), the 407 MW Horns Rev 3 wind farm (2019), and the 600 MW Kriegers Flak wind farm (2021). Kriegers Flak also connects Denmark and Germany with a 400 MW cable. By 2018, Danish offshore wind farms had an average capacity factor of 40%, with newer farms having higher factors than older ones.
Offshore wind farm operators must pay a fee to cover the cost of removing and disposing of wind farms at the end of their lifespan. Wind power can lower electricity prices in the market. In 2008, this effect reduced pre-tax electricity prices.
A chart shows the minimum price wind farms receive during a period called Full Load Hours (FLH), which is the amount of electricity production supported by subsidies. Subsidy = guaranteed price minus market price. Transmission costs are included in the nearshore "Vesterhav" wind farm but not in others. Prices are usually lower in Denmark than in Germany and the UK.
As Denmark adds more wind power, it sets new electricity production records. On July 9, 2015, wind farms produced 116% of Denmark’s electricity during the evening, and at 3 a.m. the next day, wind production exceeded 140% of electricity demand.
The 1,000 MW Thor offshore wind farm, a $2.5 billion project planned for 2027 in the North Sea, was approved in 2021. Five of six bidders offered the same price of 0.01 øre/kWh, and a lottery selected RWE as the winner. The project includes connection costs and a potential payment of DKK 2.8 billion (€377 million) to the Danish government. The success of the Thor auction led to a plan to add 2 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power by 2031.
In early 2023, Denmark and Germany agreed to link Bornholm’s wind energy to the mainland by the early 2030s, with a minimum capacity of 3 GW. Six nearshore wind farms, totaling up to 450 MW, and 50 MW of experimental offshore wind farms are also planned. Nearshore wind farms are closer to the coast, allowing transformers to be on land, which lowers costs. The first 350 MW nearshore wind farms were tendered in 2015, with a target price of 0.01 øre/kWh
Economic conditions
The Danish wind turbine industry is the largest in the world. About 90% of the country's wind turbine production is sold to other countries. In 2003, Danish companies had 38% of the global wind turbine market. At that time, the industry employed about 20,000 people and earned around 3 billion euros. Before the 2008 financial crisis, the return on investment was close to 20%, but it later dropped to 10%. In 2014, the industry earned 84 billion Danish kroner.
The largest wind turbine companies in Denmark are Vestas and Siemens Wind Power.
Wind power development in Denmark has relied on teamwork between government-funded research and private companies. This collaboration focused on areas like research, testing, and setting standards. For example, in the 1980s, many small Danish companies made wind turbines to sell in California. The Danish Risø laboratory helped test and approve these products, which led to faster growth in the industry. Today, components are tested at LORC in Odense, and large prototype turbines (4–8 MW) are tested at Østerild. Some projects, like four Siemens 7MW turbines, are supported at Nissum Bredning with funding from local people.
Denmark’s electricity costs are average in the European Union, but taxes make the final price the highest in Europe. These taxes provide income for the government, but changing them to focus more on environmental goals is difficult. Most taxes are not related to environmental concerns, unlike the 5 billion Danish kroner per year in PSO money (a fee paid by electricity users to support clean energy). This PSO money is not used by the government.
Support for new wind turbines depends on when they are built. It is usually about 25 øre (3.4 eurocents) per kilowatt-hour for a limited time, but this support is reduced if the total cost exceeds 58 øre per kilowatt-hour. PSO also helps other clean energy sources, like biomass and solar power. In 2013, total PSO funding was 5.8 billion Danish kroner, with 3.2 billion going to wind power. In 2015, the cost of electricity was 32% of the total price, PSO was 9%, and taxes and VAT made up the remaining 59%. In 2021, the Thor offshore wind project was the first to require developers to pay connection costs and give money to the state.
Wind power reduces the use of coal, oil, and gas, lowering costs for fossil fuels. Coal use dropped by more than half from 1990 to 2020. Wind power also slightly reduces energy price changes.
In 2009, the Institute for Energy Research (IER) asked the Danish think tank CEPOS to study the economic effects of Denmark’s wind industry and electricity exports. The report said Danes pay the highest electricity prices in the EU, mostly to fund government revenue and partly to support wind power. It also claimed that saving one ton of carbon dioxide between 2001 and 2008 cost 647 Danish kroner on average. The report suggested that 90% of wind industry jobs came from other technology sectors and that wind subsidies reduced Denmark’s GDP by 1.8 billion Danish kroner between 2001 and 2005. However, the report was criticized, and some Danish experts said it was funded by the American oil and coal industry. The Danish government also rejected the report’s findings. The World Nuclear Association said the report was a response to U.S. President Obama’s 2009 Earth Day speech, which praised wind energy.
To encourage wind power, families could avoid paying taxes if they generated electricity themselves or joined wind turbine cooperatives. These cooperatives invested in community wind projects. By 1996, there were about 2,100 such groups in Denmark. Public opinion polls show that this direct involvement helped increase support for wind power, with 86% of Danes favoring it over other energy sources.
Wind turbine cooperatives are not limited to small projects. For example, the Middelgrunden offshore wind farm, which had 20 turbines and was the largest offshore wind farm in the world when built in 2000, is owned 50% by the Middelgrunden Wind Turbine Cooperative (with 10,000 members) and 50% by a local utility company. Similar models exist for other projects.
By 2001, over 100,000 families were part of cooperatives, which had installed 86% of Denmark’s wind turbines. By 2004, over 150,000 families were members or owned turbines, and about 5,500 turbines had been built. However, as private companies became more involved, the share of turbines owned by cooperatives decreased to 75%. This model has also been used in Germany and the Netherlands.
The island of Samsø built 11 land-based wind turbines in 2000 and 10 offshore turbines in 2003. These, along with other renewable energy efforts, helped the island claim to be the world’s largest carbon-neutral community. This claim depends on the idea that if a place produces more clean energy than it uses, it can ignore pollution from other sources like cars or imported electricity. However, Samsø’s government is working to reduce fossil fuel use in transportation by switching to electric vehicles.