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Denmark reduces alert level for energy facilities

The Danish Energy Agency (Energistyrelsen) has asked national infrastructure operator Energinet to reduce its threat alert level from orange to yellow.

Denmark reduces alert level for energy facilities
One of Denmark's gas storage facilities. Photo: Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix

The change in alert level is based on an “overall impression of the threat situation”, the Energy Agency said in a statement.

Energinet is responsible for the overall operation of Denmark’s electricity and gas supply system.

At the end of September, the Energy Agency requested a higher alert level following explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines near Danish island Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.

Orange, the second-highest level, means that companies in the sector are to be alert to security at their facilities.

The higher alert level means that “the physical security of vital buildings and installations is checked,” Danish Energy Agency director Kristoffer Böttzauw told news wire Ritzau last month.

“You make sure that fences are intact, that security cameras are working and that there are regular patrols. And you limit access as much as possible,” he said.

At yellow level, “extraordinary contingencies” are reduced, but alert is still raised meaning increased surveillance is still in place.

The threat level rating by the energy authority is based on a range of parameters including assessments issued by national intelligence agency FE.

READ ALSO: Denmark’s energy infrastructure on alert after Nord Stream gas leakages 

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ENERGY

Denmark launches its biggest offshore wind farm tender

The Danish Energy Agency on Monday launched its biggest tender for the construction of offshore wind farms, aimed at producing six gigawatts by 2030 -- more than double Denmark's current capacity.

Denmark launches its biggest offshore wind farm tender

Offshore wind is one of the major sources of green energy that Europe is counting on to decarbonise electricity production and reach its 2050 target of net zero carbon production, but it remains far off the pace needed to hit its targets.

Denmark’s offshore wind parks currently generate 2.7 gigawatts of electricity, with another one GW due in 2027.

The tender covers six sites in four zones in Danish waters: North Sea I, Kattegat, Kriegers Flak II and Hesselø.

“We are pleased that we can now offer the largest offshore wind tender in Denmark to date. This is a massive investment in the green transition,”  Kristoffer Böttzauw, head of the Danish Energy Agency, said in a statement.

Investment in offshore wind plummeted in Europe in 2022 due to supply chain problems, high interest rates and a jump in prices of raw materials, before bouncing back in 2023.

A record 4.2 gigawatts was installed in Europe last year, when a record 30 billion euros in new projects were approved, the trade association WindEurope said in January.

It said it was optimistic about the future of offshore wind in Europe, expecting new offshore wind capacity of around five gigawatts per year for the next three years.

However, it noted that that was still far short of what is needed if Europe wants to hit its 2030 target of 111 gigawatts of offshore wind installed capacity, with less than 20 gigawatts installed at the end of 2023.

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