Denmark is making the news today because it has had a day where its wind power energy production was higher than its total usage (Source: Energy Transition). As a country, they are looking to have one hundred percent of their energy be from renewable resources by 2050.
The Danes have loads of relatively inexpensive wind power, and they plan to store the excess partly as heat simply by running electric heating systems when power is cheap. Eventually, it could also be stored chemically, such as via electrolysis to produce green hydrogen. At that point, the heat and transport sectors could theoretically also be served with excess green power.
Compare that to Canada. We are looking to have twenty percent of our energy come from wind by 2025 and currently only get a little over two percent. The biggest barrier for growth is not the lack of wind to power our homes, but the delays and blocking of projects due to the “eyesore” factor of wind turbine power generation. I guess I can’t complain too much though as Wikipedia states that we are the sixth largest producer of wind power in the world.
Living in Canada, being fairly proud of my home, I would like to think that this country, more than most, has a golden opportunity to be a leader in renewable energy. Solar in Alberta, wind along the coasts and plains, hydroelectric and tidal in other provinces. We have the “free” land to do it. I would love Canada to commit to running one hundred percent on renewable energy by 2050, and potentially becoming a renewable energy exporter soon after.
