Danish minister lowers expectations for offshore wind revenue — EnergyWatch

In an interview with Børsen, Denmark’s Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard (M) downplays expectations for what the Danish state can earn from an upcoming tender for nine megawatts of offshore wind power.

He says the assumptions have changed since the Danish Parliament signed an agreement on offshore wind tenders at the end of May this year.

Børsen writes that interest rates have risen since then, supply chains are under pressure, while component prices have also increased.

Aagaard’s announcement comes after a market dialog in which draft tender documents have been discussed with companies and other stakeholders over the past few months.

The minister does not put a figure on what he himself had hoped the nine gigawatts could generate – or what he now thinks they can bring.

”I expect it to be worth money,” he tells Børsen.

”But the way we have talked about it – that it was worth a lot of money, and we could be very, very sure that investors would invest – we should probably prepare ourselves for the fact that in the period we are in now, it is a little less financially attractive.”

The minister emphasizes that there is still interest in the Danish sites.

However, he says that companies need a guarantee that a hydrogen pipeline to Germany will be built, for example.

This is because the excess power that will be produced will be used to make hydrogen to be shipped to Germany.

Back in September, Kristian Jensen, CEO of the industry organization Green Power Denmark, said that Danish politicians should lower their expectations of what the state can earn from the upcoming tender.

This came after a UK offshore wind tender in September ended up with zero bids.

He urged Danish politicians not to make too stringent demands in relation to the tender.