36 I. RØPKE ET AL.
Keywords Denmark · Danish energy system · Transformation ·
Energy savings · Role of households in energy transformation
introDuCtion
This chapter outlines developments and tendencies in Danish national
energy policy, contextualized in brief descriptions of the Danish energy
system as well as current energy reduction approaches.
The chapter is divided into four overall sections, beginning with a
short, historical illustration of how and why the current Danish energy
system has come to be. Subsequently, current trends in Danish energy
policy are presented and discussed in relation to how the role of households is portrayed in current and future strategies for low carbon transitions. Danish national energy policy and approaches tend to utilize
mainstream understandings, or problem framings, of energy demand,
wherefore strategies and approaches for energy reductions usually take
on technocratic or consumer-behaviour oriented perspectives on change.
There are, however, a few examples of Danish sustainable energy consumption initiatives that take a broader perspective of change, and bring
forward the need for practice-based, systemic changes in order to obtain
low carbon transitions. The chapter will provide a short introduction to
one such initiative, followed by an overall conclusion.
the Danish energy system
The Danish energy system has been through continuous transformations
since the oil crises in the 1970s. Presently (the late 2010s), the system is
characterized by a relatively high penetration of wind power in the electricity system, a large share of district heating based on combined heat
and power (CHP), a high degree of self-sufficiency in energy, and considerable use of (imported) biomass.
The first steps towards a modern utilization of wind power were taken
by pioneers and popular movements in the wake of the oil crises, but
the endeavour played a limited role in the first decades and met with
much resistance from incumbent interests. Instead, electricity companies
focused on replacing oil with coal, and tried to promote the introduction of nuclear power, but this was blocked by a combination of factors,
including public resistance. When global warming began to attract public
Keywords Denmark · Danish energy system · Transformation ·
Energy savings · Role of households in energy transformation
introDuCtion
This chapter outlines developments and tendencies in Danish national
energy policy, contextualized in brief descriptions of the Danish energy
system as well as current energy reduction approaches.
The chapter is divided into four overall sections, beginning with a
short, historical illustration of how and why the current Danish energy
system has come to be. Subsequently, current trends in Danish energy
policy are presented and discussed in relation to how the role of households is portrayed in current and future strategies for low carbon transitions. Danish national energy policy and approaches tend to utilize
mainstream understandings, or problem framings, of energy demand,
wherefore strategies and approaches for energy reductions usually take
on technocratic or consumer-behaviour oriented perspectives on change.
There are, however, a few examples of Danish sustainable energy consumption initiatives that take a broader perspective of change, and bring
forward the need for practice-based, systemic changes in order to obtain
low carbon transitions. The chapter will provide a short introduction to
one such initiative, followed by an overall conclusion.
the Danish energy system
The Danish energy system has been through continuous transformations
since the oil crises in the 1970s. Presently (the late 2010s), the system is
characterized by a relatively high penetration of wind power in the electricity system, a large share of district heating based on combined heat
and power (CHP), a high degree of self-sufficiency in energy, and considerable use of (imported) biomass.
The first steps towards a modern utilization of wind power were taken
by pioneers and popular movements in the wake of the oil crises, but
the endeavour played a limited role in the first decades and met with
much resistance from incumbent interests. Instead, electricity companies
focused on replacing oil with coal, and tried to promote the introduction of nuclear power, but this was blocked by a combination of factors,
including public resistance. When global warming began to attract public