13 BEYOND WIND: NEW CHALLENGES TO THE EXPANSION …
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Norway (76%), where individual, hydroelectricity-based heating, rather
than district heating, is widespread, exceed Denmark. In countries with
similar district heating coverage and weather conditions to Denmark, the
usage of renewables tends to be lower. For example, among the Baltics,
Latvia has a direct renewable usage of only 12% and Lithuania (with 57%
coverage) uses only 20% of renewables. Among Denmark’s Nordic neighbors, Sweden has 52% coverage but only 28% of direct renewable energy
usage, and Finland’s coverage reaches 50% of the population but only
uses 9% of renewables.
Notwithstanding its position relative to comparable countries, district
heating remains a challenging area for further green transition in
Denmark because the country has set a high level of ambition. In
Denmark, despite its shift to renewables, the aggregate share of oil,
natural gas, and coal still accounted for 31% of all fuels used in the
production of district heating in 2017. This is despite the share of coal
decreasing to 11% from the peak of 46% in 1991, and the share of renewables increasing from just 7% in 1975 to 59% (Danish Energy Agency
2018d). Most of this gain in renewables is a consequence of a higher
biomass usage. Since 2000, total biomass usage (in energy conversion
and final usage) has more than doubled, primarily through increased use
of wood chips, wood pellets, and waste wood. At the end of 2017,
biomass represented 92% of all renewables used in the production of
district heating (Danish Energy Agency 2018c).
Though renewable, wood biomass energy production is not carbon
neutral. Trees remove CO 2 from the atmosphere; burning them returns
it there. Even if cut trees are replanted, managed forests store less carbon
than their native counterparts. Furthermore, the emission-reabsorption
cycle may take years to complete (Danish Council on Climate Change
2018; Schlesinger 2018). In response to these concerns, the Danish
Energy Association and the Danish District Heating Association—lobby
organizations—entered a voluntary agreement in 2014 on the usage
of sustainable biomass (Danish Energy Association and Danish District
Heating Association 2016). According to the agreement, electricity and
generation plants using biomass in Denmark shall require suppliers to
meet minimum sustainability standards, and Danish generators’ wood
purchases shall be documented and audited by a third party.
Beyond the non-neutral impact on the environment, another source
of concern for Denmark’s biomass use is security of supply. A significant
share (39% in 2016) of the biomass used in Denmark is imported from
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Norway (76%), where individual, hydroelectricity-based heating, rather
than district heating, is widespread, exceed Denmark. In countries with
similar district heating coverage and weather conditions to Denmark, the
usage of renewables tends to be lower. For example, among the Baltics,
Latvia has a direct renewable usage of only 12% and Lithuania (with 57%
coverage) uses only 20% of renewables. Among Denmark’s Nordic neighbors, Sweden has 52% coverage but only 28% of direct renewable energy
usage, and Finland’s coverage reaches 50% of the population but only
uses 9% of renewables.
Notwithstanding its position relative to comparable countries, district
heating remains a challenging area for further green transition in
Denmark because the country has set a high level of ambition. In
Denmark, despite its shift to renewables, the aggregate share of oil,
natural gas, and coal still accounted for 31% of all fuels used in the
production of district heating in 2017. This is despite the share of coal
decreasing to 11% from the peak of 46% in 1991, and the share of renewables increasing from just 7% in 1975 to 59% (Danish Energy Agency
2018d). Most of this gain in renewables is a consequence of a higher
biomass usage. Since 2000, total biomass usage (in energy conversion
and final usage) has more than doubled, primarily through increased use
of wood chips, wood pellets, and waste wood. At the end of 2017,
biomass represented 92% of all renewables used in the production of
district heating (Danish Energy Agency 2018c).
Though renewable, wood biomass energy production is not carbon
neutral. Trees remove CO 2 from the atmosphere; burning them returns
it there. Even if cut trees are replanted, managed forests store less carbon
than their native counterparts. Furthermore, the emission-reabsorption
cycle may take years to complete (Danish Council on Climate Change
2018; Schlesinger 2018). In response to these concerns, the Danish
Energy Association and the Danish District Heating Association—lobby
organizations—entered a voluntary agreement in 2014 on the usage
of sustainable biomass (Danish Energy Association and Danish District
Heating Association 2016). According to the agreement, electricity and
generation plants using biomass in Denmark shall require suppliers to
meet minimum sustainability standards, and Danish generators’ wood
purchases shall be documented and audited by a third party.
Beyond the non-neutral impact on the environment, another source
of concern for Denmark’s biomass use is security of supply. A significant
share (39% in 2016) of the biomass used in Denmark is imported from