The CIP Foundation, a Danish non-profit, has called for greater focus on flexible electricity consumption to ensure that the country can remain a leader when it comes to green energy.
Denmark has embraced renewable energy with great success – more than 80% of the country’s electricity now comes from renewable sources, largely wind and solar power. In addition, demand for electrification is expected to increase in the coming years, driven by the electrification of transport, heating, and industry.
However, the foundation argues that Denmark’s grid is currently unable to keep up, due to delays in infrastructure development.
‘While we are producing more green electricity than ever before, we are moving closer to a situation where we cannot deliver it when and where it is needed, because we no longer have the capacity on the electricity grid to transport the electricity to consumers,’ it noted.
‘Lack of capacity’
“We have spent decades building a green energy supply that the rest of the world looks up to,” commented Charlotte Jepsen, managing partner at CIP Foundation. “But now the lack of capacity in our electricity grid is becoming one of the biggest barriers to the green transition and business development in large parts of Denmark.”
“It is neither realistic nor socio-economically meaningful to focus solely on expanding our electricity grid. We need to think smarter.”
Grid expansion has not kept pace with shifting demand patterns, it notes – for example, the electrification of the car fleet has led to concentrated peaks in electricity consumption, due to many EVs being charged at the same time.
Flexible consumption
The foundation suggests that more flexible electricity consumption should be introduced, such as shifting consumption to periods of lower system load and adjusting demand in response to price and capacity conditions, alongside traditional grid expansion.
It estimates that an average household with an electric car and solar panels could save up to DKK 11,000 annually by shifting electricity consumption to off-peak hours, while those contributing to peak load would pay higher charges.
“The basic principle should be simple for both households and businesses – you pay more if you put an extraordinary load on the grid, and you are rewarded if you are flexible and help the grid,” added Eva Berneke, board member at the CIP Foundation. “This creates the right incentives for both households and businesses.
“More flexible electricity consumption is the prerequisite for the continued electrification of society.” Read more here.
Related