By Myrna M. Velasco
HOUSTON, Texas – The battle of many countries for a clean energy future – primarily to save planet Earth from overheating, is highly feasible as has already been proven by a number of successful economies in the world.
In her address at the CERAWeek, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark rallies the world that clean energy transformation is highly achievable - both in the goals of having economic expansion while saving the planet from climate change risks - and this pathway has already been demonstrated by Denmark as a certified "wind nation".
In her address at the CERAWeek, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark demonstrated that a successful ‘clean energy transition’ has so far been concretized by her country -- and it now stands as an example for the world to emulate.
“Denmark was able to join this energy transformation and we significantly reduce our carbon emissions and lower gross energy consumption and at the same time achieve decades of economic growth,” the Danish royal said.
She emphasized that as global energy demand escalates, the energy sector also goes through a crossroad of transformation to decarbonize society – and that’s only feasible with the deployment of cleaner energy technologies.
The crown princess emphasized that what had been viewed by other countries on the impossibility of gaining economic expansion with renewable energy solution had already been rendered as a myth in the case of Denmark’s energy system.
She asserted that their experience as a wind nation “shows that this transformation can happen without compromising on electricity prices or stability.”
“As a nation, we have created an effective wind energy sector that made the country cleaner and more climate friendly, but also richer, providing greater welfare, jobs and growth,” the princess added.
She averred that “transitioning to a green economy is not only good for our planet and the people, it is also a good business. I think it is fair to say that today Denmark is a global leader in renewable energy.”
As it currently stands, she noted that employment in their green energy sector “is higher than the rest of the labor market – actually by a factor of 6:1…we hold the world record for the greatest share of wind power in our energy system, reaching more than 40% last year,” stressing further that with “the continued political support on the decision taken in the 1970s, Denmark is now going to become 100% renewable by 2050.”
Realistically, it is not just Denmark that has been leading the way for “cleaner energy future” – but also several countries in Europe, even North America and in Asia.
For many companies that have been tugging their way for a clean energy future, the eventual coupling of RE technologies with commercial-scale battery storage is seen re-positioning that technology option to be highly competitive with conventional power generation solutions; hence, changing that pace of intermittency often associated with wind and solar technology options.