More wind farms could be cropping up near the coast

New policies put no limits on the numbers of turbines

Wind turbines could be popping up along the coastline like, well, wind turbines if a current open-door policy administered by the energy administration Energistyrelsen remains in place. Current rules allow 350 MW per coastal wind farm, that corresponds to over 100 large wind turbines per installation.

There is no real limit to how many turbines can be constructed by private project developers as near as  four kilometres from the coast.

There are currently 28 applications under consideration and Energistyrelsen has given permission for feasibility studies in five of those projects.

Welcome to the Wild West
Conservationists and politicians are nervous about what could happen if regulations are not tightened,

“This could easily become a kind of Wild West where a project developer counts on a piece of territorial waters and is perhaps fortunate enough to be allowed to go ahead,” Michael Leth Jess head of the conservation association Danmarks Naturfredningsforening told Jyllands-Posten.

READ MORE: Company’s extreme wind strategy: Towns today, turbines tomorrow

Kalundborg mayor Martin Damm said that the current policy  could lead to two major coastal wind farms near his in his municipality.

“I don’t believe that politicians have thought through the consequences of the open door procedure,” he said.




Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.