‘Denmark could be an 80 TWh clean power market by 2030’

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The chief executive of Danish renewables developer GreenGo Energy Group has said demand fed by electrification and green fuels such as hydrogen, could drive an 80 TWh-plus clean power market in the country this decade.

Karsten Nielsen, head of the Vedbæk-based clean power company, told pv magazine a government estimate Denmark will need 71 TWh of renewable energy by 2030 is based on an expectation of 2-2.5 GWp of power-to-gas, or power-to-X (P2X) facilities this decade when, in fact, serious plans for 4.5 GW have already been announced.

The GreenGo chief said the current government prediction “may be underestimated,” in a press release issued by the business yesterday to announce the sale of 360 MW of greenfield-stage solar capacity from GreenGo's 4 GWp, ‘Mermaid portfolio,' Danish solar project pipeline.

GreenGo sold the solar projects to Israeli peer Doral Group Renewable Energy Resources, with the Ramat-Gan based buyer paying €200 million to establish Denmark as its bridgehead for expansion into Europe.

Nielsen told pv magazine the solar projects which have changed hands under the deal have had site control, due diligence and their business cases completed, with permitting applications under way. With Doral having taken ownership, Nielsen said, GreenGo will take the projects through to commissioning on behalf of the new owner.

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Quoted in the press release, the GreenGo chief executive said: “The agreement will ensure €200 million-plus in full cycle financing for 360 MW of our rapidly growing Mermaid solar portfolio, under development in Denmark. Denmark remains one of the most interesting solar markets these days, based on … ambitious environmental targets and the rapid expansion of new consumers driven by electrification and green fuels/P2X. We believe that The Climate Partnership of Denmark’s expectation of 71 TWh demand by 2030 may be underestimated, so there is a continued and significant demand for build-out of renewable generation in Denmark.” The Danish government has established 13 climate partnerships for different sectors of industry, including one for energy and utilities.

Doral Energy chief executive Yaki Noyman said: “We are excited to enter into a new partnership with GreenGo on this portfolio of Danish utility scale solar projects. By entering into the Nordics, we continue to diversify our global footprint. It's the natural next step for our planned expansion in Europe. We look forward to contribute to accelerating the energy transition in Denmark with this portfolio.”

This article was amended on 01/07/21 to include Karsten Nielsen's prediction of Danish clean power demand in 2030.

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