Minister for Climate, Energy, and Utilities Dan Jorgensen announced in June 2022 that he plans for Denmark to become a “major green powerhouse for all of Europe”. In doing so, Denmark is set to quadruple its solar and wind energy production by 2030 whereas offshore wind capacity is to quintuple from 2.3GW to 8.9GW by 2030. In its new climate deal, Denmark will target offshore production in the North Sea similar to neighboring European countries. The Government will provide schemes and tariffs to promote growth as well as rely on IPPs to supplement growth in the private sector. In this article, we will introduce three IPPs based in Denmark that will lead this change and all of the firms can be found on our list of the largest IPPs in Europe.
Eurowind Energy – wind and solar IPP based in Hobro
Based in Hobro, Eurowind Energy is a leading developer and operator of wind and solar projects which are dispersed across 16 countries with over 400 employees in Europe and the US. The Danish firm is owned 50% by EWE Holding ApS and the remaining 50% by Norlys Holding A/S. In recent years, Eurowind has undergone significant expansion as reported by renews biz, the group saw its profits rise to €127m in 2021-2022 compared to €70m the year before. The growth is partially due to the partnership with Norlys Energy Trading and also due to the increase in the installed capacity from 696MW to 852MW. Eurowind continues to grow in 2023 with the acquisition of a 48MW wind project in Romania and in June 2023 the firm announced the acquisition of a share in French renewables group, Ventelys Energies Partagees. The French group has over 38 projects under development with a project pipeline of 1258MW across solar and wind assets.
Better Energy – solar and wind IPP based in Frederiksberg
Better Energy is a specialist developer, designers, engineers, financers, and operators of green infrastructure assets. Based in Frederiksberg, the firm operates one of the fastest-growing portfolios in Europe with a project pipeline of over 10GW solar projects located across Europe. In 2022, Better Energy invested 2.9bn krone which allowed its portfolio to reach this target. The investments meant Better Energy accounted for installed nearly half of all solar projects installed in Denmark during the year. 534MW of solar energy was connected to the grid and the number of employees rose from 148 to 264 by the end of the year. Better Energy announced a partnership with Industriens Pension which was responsible for installing 21 solar assets across Denmark and Poland. In 2023, the group aims to increase operations in Denmark, Poland, Sweden, and Finland reaching a workforce of 500 people.
European Energy – solar and wind IPP based in Soborg
The Danish renewables giant has developed an impressive track record having developed over 2GW of wind and solar projects across Europe. European Energy is active in various stages of green energy development from asset management, power purchase agreements, and operations. In November 2022, the firm recorded €9.8m in profit at the end of Q3 which place the firm as one of the leading European developers of green energy. The firm continues to grow and in February 2023, European Energy reached 1GW of installed capacity with 600MW of green energy connected in 2022 which highlights the rapid growth the company has experienced. The milestone was hit after two wind parks in Brazil and Lithuania were connected to the grid and the firm aims to build on this milestone and further strengthen its portfolio in 2023.
Image Source: Nicholas Doherty via Unsplash (28.06.2023)
