Klima- og energiminister Lykke Friis' tale ved seminar om havvind

I just returned from a visit to Ukraine, to support Danish-Ukranian business-relations with his royal highness, the crown prince.

Here I learned of Vestas new joint-venture with one of the largest rocket producers in the world.
So I guess you can say, that going green has now become rocket science.

But that’s not all I experienced.
In Ukraine I also visited Chernobyl.
As you probably know the Chernobyl catastrophe happened 25 years ago.
This year Fukushima happened.

And that let to these clever words:
"Es ist vorbei,"
as the chancellor put her decision to shut down all of Germany’s nuclear plants.

A new survey shows, that the radiation at Fukushima is twice as powerful as feared.

This will certainly provide the anti-nuclear protesters with further ammunition.
But the chancellor’s decision didn’t make everyone happy.
In fact, it almost made the French president Sarkozy hit the roof, when he heard of the Chancellor's decision.

He fears, that the nuclear stop will lead to skyrocketing energy prices in Europe, due to shortages.

But wind is also a substantial part of the energy equation, as Germany targets to boost the share of its electricity consumption by renewable power.
This will certainly benefit Danish businesses.

In other words; there is several sides to the new energy reality.
And that’s the first point I’ll be making today.

Secondly I’ll present the Danish Government's Energy Strategy 2050.

And finally I’ll point to the experience of the Anholt tender as a valuable lesson in our way forward to a fossil fuel independent society.

Later Deloitte and the Energy Agency will be presenting the new report in greater detail.

But let me start by explaining why energy has become so crucial in the 21st century?

The first one is connected to the increasing amount of energy consumers worldwide.
By 2050, the world’s population is projected to increase to 9 billion. And with a growing global middle class, more people will demand cars, fridges, city breaks, iPads and all the other commodities of a modern life.

Just think about China.
According to McKinsey, urban China could build up to two-and-a-half Chicagos every year to 2025!

Already by 2035, the world’s energy demand will have increased by 36 % compared to 2008.
And this is a conservative estimate by the IEA. 

While the number of consumers on earth is going up, the world’s reserves of fossil fuels are going down.
And that’s the second argument.

So what it all boils down to is the very fact that fossil fuels will become a scarce resource.
We will most likely be facing wildly fluctuating and possibly increasing prices of fossil fuels.

Thirdly, through our energy policy we are often empowering regimes that do not share our democratic values. Libya is here only one illuminating example!
 
Finally; Energy is vital in the 21st century, because due to the previous three arguments the demand for new green energy will be immense.

Almost all countries worldwide want to limit their energy consumption and overreliance on fossil fuels.

Hence, green tech is one of the world’s fastest growing markets.

According to McKinsey; clean tech centers of growth are developing a global market potential of approximately 2.5 trillion dollars in 2020.

The IEA has projected that market for off shore wind will grow from 2.9 GW to 115 GW in the next 25 years.

So, ladies and gentlemen, to me the case is crystal clear.
Together the four arguments make a compelling case for action.

That’s why we can’t just continue with conventional sources of energy.

Hence, we simply need to embark upon a paradigm shift in our energy policy.

And that’s why the Danish government recently presented its roadmap to fossil fuel independence.

The strategy outlines a long-term plan towards realising the goal of achieving independence from coal, oil and natural gas by 2050.

Increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy are key to delivering these results.

No one doubts the magnitude of this task.
We are talking about the biggest energy revolution since the oil crisis in the 70’ties.

The results will be an increase in the share of renewable energy from 19 pct today to 33 pct within the next 10 years. The share of renewables in electricity consumption will be even higher – up from 29 pct today to 62 pct in 2020.

And wind energy alone will cover more than 40 pct of electricity consumption, that's a unique world record.

Recently, I was actually INSIDE a blade of a modern large windturbine.
So now I truly understand what President Obama meant, when he said: "and they look even cooler up close".

This also reminds me of the run-up to COP15, when he was touring the US, showing off Denmark’s 20 pct wind energy as the perfect example of a green country.

Now we’re doubling that number.
Which is also one of the reasons why the president from South Korea recently visited Denmark.

Wind power is indeed a major tool to pave our way to fossil fuel independence.

Let me give you three examples:

First of all the plan to build a 600 MW offshore wind farm at Kriegers Flak in the Baltic Sea.

Besides delivering green electricity,
it will also be part of a combined Danish-German solution where wind farms will be connected to a new offshore grid between Denmark and Germany - and with the possibility at a later stage that also Sweden will join us.

It will be a beacon for large, future sea-based power grids in the North Sea and elsewhere.

Secondly, we’re planning to build 400 MW coastal wind projects; The screening for suitable sites is already in process.

Finally; Anholt wind farm will be connected to the grid next year producing the equivalent of the electricity consumption of 400.000 households.

Speaking about Anholt, the tendering process taught us some valuable lessons.

It showed us how difficult it is to stimulate competition among potential bidders.
And unfortunately, the wind farm turned out to be more expensive, than expected.

The report from Deloitte shows, that we may hope for cheaper off shore wind farms in Denmark in the future;
if we are able to create the right framework conditions as well as a better dialogue with investors and contractors.

It is my ambition, that we make this happen.

Now the new report has provided us with the possible tools.

I am well aware, that renewable energy can't just be viewed as a set of technologies; they are also businesses, and as such are subject to the normal ups and downs of the market.

The challenges we’re facing might not all be governments making.
But the failure to respond to them, will certainly be our problem.

Government incentives can't eliminate every obstacle that renewables face.
But learning from the past will enable us to make wiser decisions in the future.

Even if going green isn’t rocket science, it is not going to be easy.
But we are going for it.

As Albert Einstein said:
“Anyone who has never made a mistake,
has never tried anything new".

I have read Deloitte’s analysis with great interest and I am sure that the recommendations will provide us with the necessary tools to further strengthen Danish wind power.

In a moment Martin Enevoldsen and Joe Phillips from Deloitte and GL Garrad Hassan will present the analysis in further detail.

Thank you.