New initiative from the Danish Government will ensure a quadrupling of solar and wind power on land
On 9 October 2023, the Danish Government presented an initiative that will make it easier to build energy parks on land and provide higher compensation to citizens and local communities living close to wind turbines and solar cells. The goal is green power equivalent to the consumption of more than 11 million households.
The Danish Government has presented 12 green initiatives to ensure that the goal of quadrupling the total electricity production from solar and onshore wind by 2030 is realised.
Municipalities and companies have currently registered several areas where larger energy parks could be located, and 32 areas have been screened as potential energy parks. The dialogue about these areas must be initiated so that municipalities, either on their own or with the help from the state, can start establishing the parks in the suitable areas. Already now, municipalities and companies can propose additional areas that could potentially be used as energy parks and that can be included in the upcoming application rounds in 2024 and 2025.
The Danish Government wants less bureaucracy, dialogue with the municipalities, local anchoring and greater compensation for neighbours and local communities. Today, developers find that they must obtain more than 20 different licenses from several authorities. Therefore, the government is now creating a single entry point in the nature and environmental area for municipalities and companies to make it easier to obtain the necessary permits. The intention is that no renewable energy projects should experience being tossed around between authorities and wasting valuable time.
In addition, compensation schemes must be significantly improved for neighbours and local communities to get more money and benefits from living close to solar cells and wind turbines. This will be done by ensuring that as electricity production quadruples, installers will contribute up to an additional DKK 2.5 billion to a total of DKK 4.5 billion by 2030 to a green pool. This pool will be used for activities in local communities and for VE-bonuses for neighbours of the renewable energy plants. This could give neighbours an average increase from around DKK 9,000 to DKK 14,000 per year in tax-free bonuses.
Plesner is keeping a close eye on the development and implementation of the initiatives.
Want to know more?
If you would like to know more, please contact Plesner's Energy and Infrastructure team.
