In Denmark, the last Orsted coal power plant has been closed forever

The country's largest energy company closed its last coal-fired power plant on August 31:an important step for the Danish future.

• Orsted, Denmark's largest energy company, has closed its last coal-fired power plant in Esbjerg.
• The plant produced 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year, equal to those of 600 thousand cars.
• An important step for Denmark, which aims to completely abandon fossil fuels by 2030.

Since yesterday, Sunday 1 September, the coal-fired power plant of Esbjerg, in Denmark, it is turned off forever.And the entire north-west of the country, which was previously served by the power plant, will from now on receive electricity only from renewable sources. Orsted, Denmark's largest energy company, closed the power plant (and also another coal-fired unit at the Studstrup power plant, which is located on the east coast) thus marking a milestone in its transition to fossil-free energy production.The company, formerly known as DONG Energy, was a pioneer in offshore wind energy and branded itself a “leading renewable energy company” after ceasing its oil and gas business in 2017.Now the company's goal is to reach a share of green energy produced by the end of the year 99 percent of the total.

Orsted's transformation from oil giant to green 

Until 2006, Orsted was one of the largest coal-fired energy companies in Europe, before gradually reducing consumption through a reduction in the number of thermal and power plants and conversions to certified sustainable biomass.A road that today seems to have come to fruition:in fact, the one closed by Orsted was its last coal-fired thermoelectric power plant.A closure that second Ole Thomsen, vice-president of the Danish giant “marks the end of a chapter in our green transformation.For many years, the Esbjerg power plant has contributed very importantly to the Danish energy system, providing electricity and stability to the electricity grid and district heating to the municipality of Esbjerg.”

If it were up to Orsted, says Thomsen, the closure would have happened even earlier, but “the Danish authorities have ordered us to continue operations at the Esbjerg power plant until August 31 to ensure the security of the electricity supply.Of course, we complied with the order, but we believe that we, as a society, must phase out the use of gas, oil and coal as soon as possible, and with the closure of the thermal power plant, we are on our way to becoming the first major company energy to completely transform its energy production from fossil fuels to renewable energy”.

Denmark's road to decarbonisation

Denmark actually aims to surrender completely independent of coal by 2030, with the capital Copenhagen leading the way, with the intention of reaching the goal by 2025:targets made a little more complicated by the problems the country is facing in realizing the futuristic North sea energy island, the first artificial energy island in the world, which should be established in the North Sea, approximately 100 km from the coast of Denmark:surrounded by 10 offshore wind farms, the energy island will use strong winds from the North Sea to collect and distribute huge amounts of green energy across Denmark and Europe, helping to phase out fossil fuels, accelerating the green transformation.To date, however, construction costs are holding back the work.

The annual coal consumption at the Esbjerg power station was approx 500 thousand tons, equivalent to approximately 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions (or annual emissions of approximately 600 thousand cars powered by fossil fuels).Orsted has already reduced emissions intensity by 92 percent compared to 2006 values ​​and now aims to reach 99 percent by 2025.Only 99, and not 100 because Orsted still has coal as reserve fuel in one of the units of the Studstrup power plant, while a large wood pellet silo is being rebuilt after a fire:as soon as the site returns to operation, Orsted will no longer have or use coal as a backup fuel.In the future, energy production will be covered from other power plants and from wind and solar parks, and the local heating supply company of Esbjerg is creating an alternative production capacity to provide district heating to the municipality of Esbjerg.The only contraindication to the closure of the Esbjerg power plant is that of the 50 employees worked there, those who are not of retirement or pre-retirement age and who will not find a place in another position at Osted, they will be fired, as admitted by the company itself.