Denmark Kills Off Open Door Offshore Wind Scheme, 24 Projects Cancelled

Denmark has approved a new Marine Plan which will abolish the open door offshore wind auction scheme and terminate 24 out of the 33 offshore wind projects proposed under the scheme.

Under the new Marine Plan, Denmark plans to increase the sea area reserved for the development of renewable energy projects and energy islands from 15 per cent to 30 per cent. Additional 31.7 per cent of the country’s sea area will be designated nature and environmental protection zones.

The Marine Plan, however, allocates no new areas for commercial open door applications.

This means that only three out of the 27 open door projects will proceed with the development.

”For three of the pending open-door applications, the area is already designated for renewable energy in the applicable marine plan. The government is working to adjust the open door scheme so that the three projects can continue within the framework of EU regulations,” the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities said in a statement.

As reported, Denmark suspended the open door scheme earlier this year to clarify if the scheme is in line with EU laws. 33 projects were put on hold in the process.

Six of the 33 open door projects have in the meantime been unsuspended, and those projects will proceed with the development. The projects in question are Jammerland Bugt Offshore Wind Farm, Lillebælt South Offshore Wind Farm, Omø South Offshore Wind Farm, Nordre Flint Offshore Wind Farm, the Aflandshage, and the Frederikshavn.

The three projects that will be allowed to proceed with the development following the adoption of the new Marine Plan are Kadet Banke, Paludan Flak, and Vikinge Banke.

Together, the nine projects can provide the opportunity for 3.6 GW of new offshore wind, the Ministry said.

The projects to be canceled have been under development for years, including the ones owned and developed by the Danish company, European Energy.

”We believe that the government’s decision regarding the Open Door projects is very unfortunate,” Andreas Karhula Lauridsen, Head of Offshore Wind at European Energy, said.

”It is not just two years of wasted work in the service of the green transition but also a significant blow to the ambitious Danish municipalities that had relied on utilizing their local offshore wind resources to support green growth, Power-to-X projects, and the prospect of green jobs.”

The news comes just days after the Danish government announced it will possibly auction off 14 GW or more of offshore wind capacity by the end of the year.

”The situation today is different than when the scheme was rightly put on hold,” Lars Aagaard, Denmark’s Minister for Climate, Energy, and Utilities, said.

”Last week, we entered into the largest agreement in Danish history on offshore wind supply, and now we are laying out approx. 30 per cent of the sea area for renewable energy. As far as the open door is concerned, we have already had six projects approved to proceed – and we will work on adjusting the scheme so that it can be used for the three open door projects that are included in the marine plan. All in all, that’s up to 18 GW of new offshore wind, and then we continue to work with energy parks on land and expansion of offshore wind in the North Sea.”

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