Denmark gets nod for renewable energy support scheme

The European Commission said Friday it approved of renewable energy schemes proposed by a Danish government looking to meet half of its energy needs from renewable resources by 2030 and make a complete break from fossil fuels by 2050.

Denmark aims to support new technology in wind and solar installations with $127.5 million in funding. Demonstration projects for large-scale onshore wind projects at Danish national test centers are supported by a budget of $30 million.

The European Commission concluded the funding would help Denmark meet its renewable energy goals without distorting the market.

The Danish economy is greening up. In November, German utility company E.ON said that, with $11.6 million in funding from the European Commission, it would work with service provider CLEVER to link Norway to Italy with a network of 180 charging stations for electric vehicles.

Charging stations will be spaced every 90 miles or so across Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Norway during the next three years.

Denmark is expected to host a section of an expanded part of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. Russian energy company Gazprom announced earlier this week that Moscow gave it the necessary approval to move forward with construction in Russian territorial waters.

Russia, Germany, Finland and Sweden have signed off on construction permits for their territorial waters. The Danish Foreign Ministry is still considering the permits necessary to double the pipeline. The consortium managing the network is said to be considering an alternate route around Danish waters, according to a report last week from Russian news agency Tass.

Some European governments have expressed concern about the pipeline on anti-trust grounds. Europe depends heavily on Russia for natural gas and has few other options apart from Norway and liquefied natural gas from the United States.