Renewable energy is key to reducing CO2 emissions. We are therefore working to expand energy supplies based on renewable energy sources – such as water, wind, sun, biomass and geothermal energy.
DONG Energy has strong capabilities in wind energy
DONG Energy has developed strong wind energy capabilities. We have been an active player since the very beginning and we have helped establish half of the world’s ten largest offshore wind farms. We intend to maintain this leading position. Today, DONG Energy has around 500 MW wind capacity and we have more than 1,000 MW in the pipeline, especially in Britain, Germany, and Poland.
In Denmark, DONG Energy’s “home” market, the proportion of wind energy is among the greatest of any country in the world. We are proud to have contributed to this success.
Wind energy challenges
When the wind is strong and the turbines generate more energy than the local market can buy, we need to be able to export energy to other locations. Exporting wind energy requires cables through which local markets can connect to become one big market. Today, the markets are not efficiently connected. Therefore, having more cables – e.g. between Denmark and the Netherlands – is an important step in expanding the wind energy sector. The installation of such a cable would enable us to utilise wind energy more efficiently.
Cars running on wind energy
Achieving the ability to store wind energy would be a significant step. One obvious opportunity would be to develop plug-in hybrid cars that could be charged during the night and drive on a mixture of petrol, bioethanol, and electric power. Another would be to convert the energy to district heating.
Wind interacting with power plants
There is no way to avoid having a large, flexible capacity at the power plants that can take over when there is no wind blowing. In this respect, thermal power plants are ideal in combination with hydroelectric power whenever possible.
Renewable energy is more than just wind
DONG Energy generates power and heat based on water in Norway and Sweden, which have good hydropower resources. We replace some of the fossil fuels with biomass in the power plants and generate small amounts of energy from geothermal sources and solar cells.