Denmark leads the world with 39% of its electricity from wind

Wind energy made up 39.1% of Denmark’s overall electricity consumption over the whole of 2014, according to figures from the country’s Climate, Energy and Building Ministry. Denmark has the by far the largest share of its electricity usage coming from wind, nearly double that of Portugal’s 23%.

There were certain months in 2014 where wind power made up more than the year’s average, for example January 2014, where 61% of electricity consumption was provided by wind power. On certain days, over 100% of demand came from wind, with the country having to export the excess power to its neighbours. Wind power in Denmark has been steadily increasing – the country got 19% of its power from wind in 2004.

The Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Building says that Denmark is on track to beat its European 2020 renewable energy target by a large margin. It aims to have halved its coal consumption by 2020 from 2012 levels, and to have reduced its overall fossil fuel consumption by 20% over the same time period. The Ministry was commenting on the Danish Energy Agency’s Baseline Projection 2014 which shows that the country’s strategy of phasing out fossil fuels in favour of renewables is in full swing.

The Ministry is hoping to meet 71% of electricity consumption in 2020 from renewables (from 42% in 2012), using a combination of wind power and combined heat and power with biomass. It is in the process of expanding its Horns Rev and Kriegers Flak offshore wind farms, as well as using more biomass in thermal plants. With an increased use of biofuels in transport the Ministry is predicting a 38% final energy consumption share met by renewables in 2020.