The Danish government said it intends to significantly increase its supply of renewable energy and temporarily increase natural gas production and wind energy stocks from its North Sea fields to quickly achieve independence from Russian supplies.
“We are convinced that it is better to produce gas in the North Sea than to buy it from Vladimir Putin,” said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
According to her, next year Denmark may become independent of Russian gas.
“But since we are part of the European gas network, we also need other countries to become independent,” she said.
Production from existing Danish gas fields in the North Sea could rise by 25% “in the short term”. Next year, the Tyre gas fields, operated by Total, will resume operation after a major reconstruction at the end of 2019.
In an effort to move towards green energy, the Danish government will not issue new tenders for production in the North Sea, but will instead grant companies with valid licenses the right to continue oil and gas exploration.
At the same time, Danish climate and energy minister Dan Jorgensen said the authorities would like to shut down the country’s oil industry by 2050. Denmark is now the largest oil producer in the EU.
The Danish government has also unveiled plans to drastically increase electricity production from renewable energy sources such as wind energy stocks and solar.
The plan is to quadruple onshore wind and solar generation within eight years and increase offshore wind generation from 1 to 4 gigawatts compared to current projects.