By HANS PETER SLENTE
Scotland and Denmark are both endowed with similar energy resources: offshore oil and gas and abundant wind resources. The energy sectors in both countries undertake the common task to harness the energy resources, to provide reliable, competitive and increasingly green energy to consumers and to increase energy efficiency across all sectors.
DI Energy
The Danish Energy Industries Federation (DI Energy) organises the Danish energy industry, representing 400 member companies working across the whole value chain of energy from extraction, transmission and sales to manufacturing of energy technology, engineering and other advisory services related to it.
The vision of the new export strategy for the energy industry is to double exports by 2030 and maintain Denmark as European champion in the export of energy technology solutions.
DI Energy is the leading business association for energy companies in Denmark, constantly working to ensure a conducive business environment for the energy industry, strengthen Denmark as a knowledge and development hub for modern energy solutions and promote the exports and international outreach of the industry.
DI Energy strives to ensure that the Danish energy system is adequately linked through infrastructure and markets to the neighbouring countries, promotes harmonisation of legislation and standards across countries for a transparent, long-term and unified energy policy, and works vigorously to promote the international ties of the Danish energy industry to foreign partners (not least in Scotland)
Oil and gas
Traditionally, there is a strong collaboration in oil and gas extraction around the North Sea. New discoveries are becoming rarer in the North Sea and the sector has been challenged for some time by low oil prices.
However, there is a strong on-going activity in the North Sea. On the Danish side, this activity has recently been reinforced by an agreement to refurbish the Tyra Field that constitutes the hub for most Danish gas production and transport in the North Sea.
‘It is to the benefit of growth and employment when production on the Tyra field continues. Although the green transition is running at full capacity, there will be need for oil and gas for many years to come’ – Troels Ranis, Director, Danish Energy Industries Federation
Wind energy
Wind energy is another well-known example of collaboration among the countries bordering to the North Sea – the premier European wind energy hub.
Danish technology, know-how and financing contributes to the expansion of the wind sector – both onshore and offshore – in Scotland.
The expansion of the wind sector aims at covering 50% of Danish electricity by wind power in 2020. The 40% mark has been passed already in 2014. With Scotland’s strong embracement of wind as an energy resource and ambitious targets to expand even more in the future, collaboration is steadily growing.
Bioenergy
Bioenergy contributes significantly to the Danish energy mix, increasingly substituting for fossil fuels in the heating and power sectors. The biomass stems from various sources such as residues from agriculture and forestry, household waste and biogas. Several partnerships have been formed to explore further the potentials of bioenergy in a Scottish context.
The ultimate example of Scottish-Danish energy partnership, turning whisky into energy, is explained here:
District Energy
District heating is a means of utilising surplus heat from the power sector and industry for meeting the large demand for heating in temperate countries such as Scotland and Denmark.
While district heating is by far the dominant heat source in Denmark serving over 60% of all households, the coverage in the Scotland is still in the single digits.
The Danish and Scottish governments have entered a formal collaboration in district heating.
Under this umbrella, best practices on regulation and technologies are now being exchanged between ministries, municipalities, investors, advisers and technology suppliers and new projects are taking shape. This new field of partnership has gained a strong momentum and is today an important pillar in the Scottish-Danish energy partnership.
State of Green
For more information on the Danish energy sector, energy projects and potential partners, look at the official website of Danish cleantech: www.stateofgreen.com
At the same website, you will find white papers describing key technology areas for the green transition, including wind energy, biomass, district heating and energy efficiency.
Hans Peter Slente is Senior Advisor at Denmark’s Energy Industries Federation
Surplus heat from Danish supermarkets is used for local district heating schemes
New collaboration between the retail company Dansk Supermarked and the district heating company Sønderborg Fjernvarme secures efficient utilisation of surplus heat from supermarkets’ refrigeration equipment. The heat export corresponds to heat consumption from 50 households and helps to lower CO2-emissions.
More and more supermarkets deliver their surplus heat to a district heating system – and now the Danish supermarket chains Bilka and Føtex located in Sønderborg join the trend. Both supermarkets have invested significant figures in the reconstruction of their cooling- and heating equipment, making them heat distributors rather than heat consumers.
Great green savings
Together with Danfoss’ department in the city of Aarhus, the retail company Dansk Supermarked Group has been responsible for the development and implementation of the solution.
The supermarkets do not only save money by using surplus heat from their refrigeration equipment for general heating and water heating, e.g. for cleaning. The solution also benefits the environment as the surplus heat connects to a district heating system.
– The utilisation of surplus heat is a very environmentally friendly solution that fits well with Dansk Supermarked’s policy for accountability in all processes, says Energy Manager Lars Christensen from Dansk Supermarked Group.
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