13 BEYOND WIND: NEW CHALLENGES TO THE EXPANSION …
339
Challenge 4: Meeting Increasing Flexibility Requirements with Dwindling Domestic Backup Capacity. With the backdrop of an increased
commitment on the Danish government’s side to further develop wind
power, flexibility requirements will continue to increase in Denmark. The
2018 Energy Policy agreement has established an ambition to develop
three new offshore wind farms with a total additional wind power capacity
of 2.4 GW coming online by 2030, i.e., an increase of approximately 40%
relative to present-day capacity from windmills (6.1 GW). In this respect,
the Danish government is already taking action, as the initial screening
of the zones (in the North and Baltic Seas) where the wind parks will be
sited has already begun (Danish Energy Agency 2018e).
Flexibility, which refers to the ability of the power system to maintain an exact balance between electricity supply and demand in the
face of unexpected fluctuations, is mostly supplied in Denmark through
the interconnections with neighboring countries. With an increasingly
intermittent generation mix, Denmark relies on the production facilities
located abroad as a storage facility of sorts; exporting electricity to its
neighbors during windy days and importing during calm days (Green and
Vasilakos 2012). In the longer run, Denmark tends to be a net exporter
during the winter months—when there is a generation surplus—and a net
importer during the summer months, when there is a deficit. The interaction of generation and transmission capacity made available to the Nordic
electricity market determines the prices and the flow of trade, which helps
systems with differing technologies to complement each other. It can be
argued that one of the key reasons behind the integration of large shares
of wind power into the Danish system is its proximity to Norwegian,
Swedish and Finnish hydropower, which is highly flexible and low-cost
(see Moe’s chapter on renewable energy in Norway in this volume).
During the period 1990–2017, Denmark experienced its largest net
exports in 1996 and its largest net imports in 1990 (International Energy
Agency 2017). With a long-term perspective, it is evident that interconnections enable mutually beneficial trades in the Nordic region, which
increases security of supply and facilitates the integration of renewables. However, with a shorter-run perspective and a narrower focus on
Denmark, it is a source of concern for supply security that in 9 out of
the 10 years from 2008 to 2017, Denmark has been a net importer.
Though the country has enough surplus capacity to meet peak demand,
and interconnection capacity is also growing, the situation may not
last (International Energy Agency, International Energy Agency 2017).
339
Challenge 4: Meeting Increasing Flexibility Requirements with Dwindling Domestic Backup Capacity. With the backdrop of an increased
commitment on the Danish government’s side to further develop wind
power, flexibility requirements will continue to increase in Denmark. The
2018 Energy Policy agreement has established an ambition to develop
three new offshore wind farms with a total additional wind power capacity
of 2.4 GW coming online by 2030, i.e., an increase of approximately 40%
relative to present-day capacity from windmills (6.1 GW). In this respect,
the Danish government is already taking action, as the initial screening
of the zones (in the North and Baltic Seas) where the wind parks will be
sited has already begun (Danish Energy Agency 2018e).
Flexibility, which refers to the ability of the power system to maintain an exact balance between electricity supply and demand in the
face of unexpected fluctuations, is mostly supplied in Denmark through
the interconnections with neighboring countries. With an increasingly
intermittent generation mix, Denmark relies on the production facilities
located abroad as a storage facility of sorts; exporting electricity to its
neighbors during windy days and importing during calm days (Green and
Vasilakos 2012). In the longer run, Denmark tends to be a net exporter
during the winter months—when there is a generation surplus—and a net
importer during the summer months, when there is a deficit. The interaction of generation and transmission capacity made available to the Nordic
electricity market determines the prices and the flow of trade, which helps
systems with differing technologies to complement each other. It can be
argued that one of the key reasons behind the integration of large shares
of wind power into the Danish system is its proximity to Norwegian,
Swedish and Finnish hydropower, which is highly flexible and low-cost
(see Moe’s chapter on renewable energy in Norway in this volume).
During the period 1990–2017, Denmark experienced its largest net
exports in 1996 and its largest net imports in 1990 (International Energy
Agency 2017). With a long-term perspective, it is evident that interconnections enable mutually beneficial trades in the Nordic region, which
increases security of supply and facilitates the integration of renewables. However, with a shorter-run perspective and a narrower focus on
Denmark, it is a source of concern for supply security that in 9 out of
the 10 years from 2008 to 2017, Denmark has been a net importer.
Though the country has enough surplus capacity to meet peak demand,
and interconnection capacity is also growing, the situation may not
last (International Energy Agency, International Energy Agency 2017).