The North Jutland energy business Eurowind Energy plans to establish five huge land-based energy centers in Denmark during the next few years. The total capacity of the five energy centers will be around 2.5 GW.
The first will be Energipark Aalborg, located at Nordjyllandsvaerket in Aalborg, which will be complemented by power generated by turbines in Brønderslev Municipality. The other three projects are Nørrekær Enge II in the municipalities of Vesthimmerland and Aalborg, Energipark Overgaard in the municipality of Randers, and Energipark Gasse Hede and Vollum Enge in the municipality of Tønder.
Eurowind Energy has reached agreements with the landowners for the use of their property in all five projects. Already the largest onshore wind farm in Denmark, Overgaard Energy Park has now submitted a planning application for more than 700 hectares of solar PV. Eurowind Energy is in discussion with the municipalities over the Nørrekær Enge II, Gasse Hede, and Vollum Enge projects, while planning is continuing in Aalborg and Brønderslev.
Jens Rasmussen, CEO of Eurowind Energy, said:
“Our starting point is always that we have secured the rights to use the land, so we have something specific to announce. We have now come so far on all five projects that we can share the wider perspectives of our energy centers. Common to all the projects is that they are much more than just another wind farm. These will be major centers where green energy is produced and processed on a very significant scale.”
Eurowind Energy plans for all five projects to incorporate wind turbines, solar PV, batteries, and PtX. (hydrogen production). In addition, efforts are being made to include biogas and hydrogen refining into the parks.
“Solar PV and wind turbines will always be the starting point for us. They produce the green power that is used in the other parts of the energy center. That part is in place. We are also working with battery technology, because this way we can provide balance services to the electricity grid. We have already tested batteries and will perform several tests at our plant at Greenlab Skive. We also count on electrolysis as part of all our energy centers and our medium-sized energy parks. We are relatively advanced in the work with PtX as a natural part of a park,” Jens Rasmussen said.
In addition, Eurowind Energy is attempting to incorporate biogas and the subsequent hydrogen refining procedures into the energy centers.
“There is a major need for more locally produced biogas in combination with green electricity production. Our starting point is always the green power. However, more biogas will help to phase out the use of Russian gas and natural gas from the North Sea. We also believe the soil should preserve all nutrients through gasification instead of burning straw and other crops. Burning removes the nutrients completely. When it comes to the refining of hydrogen, it would be smart to carry out the process near a CO2 source such as biogas”, Jens Rasmussen explained.
According to Jens Rasmussen, there is also one last important point:
“Our concept of large energy centers can be exported. We are active in 14 other European markets, and in most of those markets, we will be able to transfer the idea of energy centers with very limited modifications. Energy centers can become an export opportunity that we must not underestimate.”
In Denmark, Eurowind Energy has constructed a number of hybrid solar PV and wind parks. In a few years, these parks will be upgraded to serve as energy centers, according to current plans.
