Even if wind energy can’t provide power 100 percent of the time, it can still provide a bulk of the energy needed annually to power a country. A testament to that is the nordic country of Denmark, which hit a huge renewable energy milestone in 2019 as nearly half of its electricity came from wind power alone.
State-run energy operator Energinet announced its new wind record on Twitter, stating that wind power now makes up 47 percent of the country’s energy consumption, beating the previous record set in 2017 of 43 percent.
This boost is, in large part, due to the launch of the country’s largest offshore wind farm in the North Sea this year. The Horns Rev 3 wind farm generates enough energy to power about 425,000 Danish homes. Meanwhile, the US is carrying on with a single offshore wind project.
America could certainly learn from Denmark and embrace the sea breeze, and there are signs that the lackluster state of offshore wind could turn a corner soon. Presidential candidates such as Elizabeth Warren have made offshore wind investments key facets of their climate policy proposals. So here’s to more wind (offshore and onshore) in 2020.