A visitor to Denmark writes…
Posted on 06. Apr, 2010 by crowley in Blog, Renewable Energy News
A friend recently attended a “Green Grid” symposium in Denmark. The lessons he took away from that tiny country, with a population only slightly larger than Oregon’s, were instructive.
Denmark used to get more than 90% of their energy from petroleum, but the 1974 oil crisis woke them up big time. They not only decided to wean themselves from petroleum as a fuel source, but also promoted development of renewable energy technology – in particular, wind power. Denmark now gets 20% of their electricity from wind power, planning to hit 50% in ten years.
Maybe even more impressive, Denmark increased their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 40% from 1990 to 2007, on the back of its expansion in wind power, renewable energy technology development and export of wind turbines. At the same time, they decreased their carbon emissions 14%.
The visitor ended his brief report, “This is our future once we find the political will to follow it. I can hardly wait.”
You can read his report on the Danish wind industry’s web site, here.
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