Stretching for nearly 43,000 square kilometers across the Jutland Peninsula and several hundred islands, Denmark has made a name for itself as a leader in the energy transition. In fact, the country had the largest share of
sources worldwide in 2022, at more than 60 percent. With the majority of
now coming from renewable energy sources, the Nordic country is making good progress on its goals of achieving net-zero emissions by 2045 and phasing out fossil fuels by 2050.
A global leader in wind energy
Denmark’s utilization of wind power dates back to the 1970s energy crisis, when the country sought to diversify its energy supply. In 1979, the first wind turbine was erected in the country. About a decade later, the world’s first offshore wind farm started operation off the coast of Vindeby. The
capacity of active wind power turbines in Denmark has increased almost every year since 2010, reaching roughly 7.3 gigawatts in 2023. That year, nearly 60 percent of
electricity generation in the country came from wind power. Its history of harnessing the power of wind has also been beneficial to the Denmark-based wind developers Ørsted and Vestas. Vestas ranked among the
leading renewable energy companies worldwide in 2022, based on revenue.
Electricity prices in Denmark
Denmark sees some of the highest
household electricity prices in the European Union. This is largely due to the country’s hefty household electricity taxes. For example, energy taxes and VAT accounted for almost half of the
household electricity price in Copenhagen as of February 2024. However, electricity prices can depend on a wide array of additional factors on the supply side, including fossil fuel prices, the national power mix, and weather conditions, among others. Throughout 2021 and 2022,
monthly electricity prices soared in Denmark, part of an energy supply shortage that affected most of Europe. In addition to a global spike in natural gas prices, the Scandinavian country also suffered due to lower-than-average wind speeds. The decreased output from wind turbines highlighted how the reliance on intermittent energy sources for power generation can have side effects, notably the need for significant electricity imports, which can cause price fluctuations.
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