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The Danish government wants to build an artificial island with huge open-sea wind farms. "This island will make it possible to convert renewable electricity in a big way and to save energy," Denmark's Climate and Energy Minister Dan Jørgensen told SPIEGEL on the sidelines of the World Climate Change Conference in Madrid. He expects the mega-project to cost between DKK 200 and 300 billion (around EUR 27 to 40 billion). It should go into operation before 2030.
According to Jørgensen, wind farms with a peak output of 10 gigawatts are to be raised in the sea around the artificial island. That would be equivalent to around 1,000 of today's most efficient high-sea wind bikes. For comparison, the world's largest offshore wind farm so far has 1.2 gigawatts. According to the government, the electricity generated would be enough to supply ten million households - more than Denmark has inhabitants. The submarine cable is to conduct electricity to the island - where it can be converted into storable energy sources such as hydrogen, synthetic fuels or gas with so-called "power-to-X" technologies.
It is said that the site search and approval process will be completed by 2021 and construction will commence thereafter. Whether everything succeeds as planned is still unclear. After all, the technical challenges of such a large project at sea are enormous. And "Power-to-X" is still very expensive. However, Jørgensen expects a dramatic cost savings due to the size of the planned facilities.
The energy island is to become the centerpiece of the new Danish climate strategy. On Friday, a party alliance led by the Social Democratic government had passed the so-called Climate Act. It obliges Denmark to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030. The goal is to make the country climate-neutral by 2050. "In 2028, we will have 100 percent renewable energy in our electricity grid," Jørgensen told SPIEGEL.
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Behind the Climate Act is a broad social majority. Eight of the ten parties represented in Parliament support him; Together they represent 167 of the 179 deputies. "Both the Danish Business Association and Greenpeace are in favor," said Jørgensen.
This overarching consensus is a trump card in finding investors. Because nothing hate investors more than sudden political turnarounds. But even a change of government could not reverse the decisions of Friday, said Jørgensen. "All parties that could lead a future government support him and they are tied to the deal." About 90 percent of the island project is to be financed by private investors, the minister is confident that it will succeed.
Anyhow, money would be ready. According to the Bloomberg news agency alone, the Danish pension funds manage around 450 billion euros. And because of the extremely low interest rates, they thirst for investment opportunities that offer them a bit of return.
Offshore wind farms are considered interesting investments because they deliver fairly constant amounts of electricity and thus predictable yields. Thanks to enormous technical advances in recent years, costs have fallen sharply. Some new offshore wind farms can do without any subsidies. According to Jorgensen's ministry, they already produce cheaper electricity than coal or nuclear power plants.
Denmark is already an offshore wind power. Off the coast, the first such facility was built in 1991. Today, the energy company Ørsted operates the world's largest offshore wind farm. And Vestas is one of the world leaders in the manufacture of turbines.
But a purely national project should not become the energy island. On the contrary: the Danes are promoting foreign sponsors and partners, such as the German-Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa. The location is not fixed yet. But it is clear that the park is to be built tens of kilometers off the coast - where more wind blows and the towers, some of which are more than 200 meters high, do not bother anyone. The North Sea could offer the best conditions: it is windy and sometimes quite flat.