Total natural gas consumption in Denmark fell by 3.6 percent in 2023, according to a calculation by Danmarks Statistik based on annual energy accounts.
The decline in usage in 2023 comes after sanctions imposed on Russia in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine drove natural gas prices up in the EU.
Though prices in Denmark have now returned to levels comparable with 2021, the Danes have continued to reduce their dependence on natural gas.
Not only has the proportion of gas in the overall national energy supply decreased, but a significant number of households have replaced their natural gas boiler with other energy sources, reports Ritzau.
“It is another good step for the green transition. I note that the share of biogas continues to rise, and thus we are well on our way to securing a 100 percent green gas system,” commented Troels Ranis, deputy director of Danish Industry.
Biogas is an energy source produced by the breakdown of organic matter such as food scraps and animal waste.
Combined, renewable energy sources are becoming an ever larger proportion of Danes’ total energy use, according to the annual accounts.
Their share in energy consumption has increased year on year from just under a quarter in 2011, to 45.2 percent in 2023.
The majority of the Danish renewable energy comes from solid biomass, which includes wood pellets and wood chips, used to produce electricity and district heating.
It’s worth noting that, despite the popular celebration of biogas, there is plenty of controversy around the green credentials of burning wood in this form.
It has been widely promoted by industry as a cleaner, more renewable energy alternative to coal and gas. But while the wood pellets industry claims it uses only waste wood and branches, environmental groups say there is strong evidence that vast swaths of valuable, untouched forest have been clear cut to feed the growing sector.
Elsewhere in Denmark’s renewable energy sector, wind power made up 10.6 percent of the total energy consumption in 2023. This figure has remained roughly constant.
The total Danish energy consumption – without calculating fuel for vehicles, ships and aircraft abroad – was 0.2 percent lower than the previous year.
