That country�s success with wind as a reliable energy source is getting a close look by California�s regulators.
Denmark is using a regional market for wind that is being studied by the California Energy Commission.
Denmark�s modern relationship with wind power began with the oil crisis of the 1970s. That crisis led Denmark to rely on coal-fired electrical power in the 1980s. As a result, Denmark earned a high per capita carbon dioxide emissions rate.
The Danes weaned off coal with wind by providing 30 percent of the initial capital cost of a wind project and implementing feed-in tariffs. The tariffs guaranteed eligible renewable energy generation facilities receive a set price for the electricity they generate and provide to the grid.
Today, the country is a world leader in wind energy. Wind supplies 39 percent of its electricity, and the country�s wind turbine industry is one of the world�s largest.
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| Annual Wind Production in California |
Central to the growth of wind has been a policy to integrate wind power into energy markets. Denmark has a market-based power exchange where interconnections with neighboring countries allow wind energy to be bought and sold.
�Through a regional market with other Scandinavian countries and Germany, Denmark has been able to sell power to other countries to avoid shutting down its wind turbines during times of excess,� said Energy Commission Chair Robert B. Weisenmiller.
Denmark also wants wind to supply half of its electricity consumption by 2020.
�The Danes are both storing renewable power in the European-wide grids and also building operational flexibility into their current infrastructure,� Weisenmiller said. �We need to explore similar tools.�
Those tools will likely offer a path to help California evolve its steadily growing wind industry.
In 2015, wind energy was roughly 6 percent of in-state total power generation in California, up from only 2 percent in 2005, according to Energy Commission data.
�As California deepens its reliance on renewables, it�s important to learn from the European experience,� Weisenmiller said.
