1 INTRODUCTION
15
large potential storage capacity that can also facilitate the expansion of
variable solar and wind renewable energy.
Part III of this book considers the very diverse experiences of three
Northern European countries in navigating their transition to renewable
energy. In Chapter 12, Espen Moe, Susanne Therese Hansen, and Eirik
Hovland Kjær consider Norway as Europe’s potential “green battery.”
From a climate perspective, the green battery idea is tremendously attractive, as Norway has some of Europe’s best renewable energy resources,
and domestic consumption of electricity is derived almost entirely from
renewables. Utilizing Norwegian hydropower and wind to contribute to a
European energy transition seems an obvious choice. Yet, despite building
subsea cables to Germany, Netherlands, and Great Britain for renewable
energy exports, and greatly increasing domestic wind power generation, enabled by a past vested-interest compromise between the power
sector and energy-intensive industries, there is little political support
for the green battery idea. While climate arguments are part of most
actors’ reasoning, these arguments seem to be secondary. Rather, the
main motivation is increasing power exchange, with Norway providing
power balancing services, selling excess renewable energy at a profit,
and building cables not for climate reasons, but for profit. This chapter
outlines a long-term future with some more undersea cables and wind
power. However, in the short-term, the green battery is not edging closer
to fruition. With energy-intensive industry interests currently dominating
over power sector interests, no new cables will be built for now, while
wind power has encountered significant political obstacles.
Chapter 13, written by Luis Boscán, Brooks A. Kaiser, and Lars
Ravn-Jonsen, argues that Denmark can be considered a model of adoption and market integration of renewables, especially wind power. This
success story has resulted from a favorable geographical location, crossborder cooperation with neighboring countries, and a well-struck balance
between centralized planning and market-oriented policies. Nonetheless, the transition between present-day success and a future fossil-free
Denmark presents several unresolved challenges. This chapter identifies
four challenges facing Denmark’s transition to even more renewables.
The first is greening the transportation sector, and the second entails
reforming the district heating sector while increasing its renewable-energy
usage. The third challenge involves removing the cost barriers for end
users to adopt electric transportation and heating. The final challenge
15
large potential storage capacity that can also facilitate the expansion of
variable solar and wind renewable energy.
Part III of this book considers the very diverse experiences of three
Northern European countries in navigating their transition to renewable
energy. In Chapter 12, Espen Moe, Susanne Therese Hansen, and Eirik
Hovland Kjær consider Norway as Europe’s potential “green battery.”
From a climate perspective, the green battery idea is tremendously attractive, as Norway has some of Europe’s best renewable energy resources,
and domestic consumption of electricity is derived almost entirely from
renewables. Utilizing Norwegian hydropower and wind to contribute to a
European energy transition seems an obvious choice. Yet, despite building
subsea cables to Germany, Netherlands, and Great Britain for renewable
energy exports, and greatly increasing domestic wind power generation, enabled by a past vested-interest compromise between the power
sector and energy-intensive industries, there is little political support
for the green battery idea. While climate arguments are part of most
actors’ reasoning, these arguments seem to be secondary. Rather, the
main motivation is increasing power exchange, with Norway providing
power balancing services, selling excess renewable energy at a profit,
and building cables not for climate reasons, but for profit. This chapter
outlines a long-term future with some more undersea cables and wind
power. However, in the short-term, the green battery is not edging closer
to fruition. With energy-intensive industry interests currently dominating
over power sector interests, no new cables will be built for now, while
wind power has encountered significant political obstacles.
Chapter 13, written by Luis Boscán, Brooks A. Kaiser, and Lars
Ravn-Jonsen, argues that Denmark can be considered a model of adoption and market integration of renewables, especially wind power. This
success story has resulted from a favorable geographical location, crossborder cooperation with neighboring countries, and a well-struck balance
between centralized planning and market-oriented policies. Nonetheless, the transition between present-day success and a future fossil-free
Denmark presents several unresolved challenges. This chapter identifies
four challenges facing Denmark’s transition to even more renewables.
The first is greening the transportation sector, and the second entails
reforming the district heating sector while increasing its renewable-energy
usage. The third challenge involves removing the cost barriers for end
users to adopt electric transportation and heating. The final challenge