Denmark Energy Information

Denmark Energy Research

- Denmark's Energy & Climate Policy Framework: Denmark aims for 100% renewable electricity by 2030, carbon neutrality by 2045, and a 70% GHG reduction by 2030. It is phasing out fossil fuels, expanding renewables, and investing in green hydrogen and CCS. The energy market is fully liberalised, with competitive tenders for offshore wind.

- Denmark's Energy Companies: Denmark's energy sector is dominated by Ørsted and Vattenfall in electricity, with decentralised generation. Ørsted leads in renewables, while DUC dominates oil and gas. Energinet.dk manages transmission, and Andel Energi is the primary distributor. The sector is transitioning towards renewables and green hydrogen.

- Denmark's Energy Supply & Demand: In 2024, Denmark's energy mix was dominated by renewables (92% of power generation), with significant declines in fossil fuel use. Energy consumption has decreased since 2010, with biomass and electricity shares rising. Denmark is a net importer of crude oil and relies on imports for coal. GHG emissions have fallen by 47% since 1990, with CO₂ emissions per capita well below the OECD average.

- Denmark's Energy Use & Price by Sector: Denmark's final energy demand has declined since 2010, with oil, electricity, and heat as primary sources. Households and services consume the most energy, followed by transport and industry. Electricity prices and industrial gas prices surged in 2022 but have since decreased. Denmark's electricity share in final consumption remains below the OECD average but is projected to rise.

- Denmark's Issues & Prospects: Denmark is expanding wind capacity, interconnections, and CCS/hydrogen projects. By 2030, coal use will drop 95%, renewables will reach 58%, and electricity will be 100% renewable. Gas consumption is projected to fall 73% by 2050. Offshore wind projects and grid expansions are underway, with nuclear power being reconsidered.

Denmark Total Energy Production & Consumption

Since 2010, primary energy consumption has been on a declining trend (-1.7%/year). At 2.6 toe per capita in 2024, Denmark's energy consumption is 7% lower than the EU average.

Biomass represented 34% of total energy consumption in 2024, followed by oil (32%), electricity (17%), gas (14%), and coal (3%). The shares of coal, gas and oil have respectively decreased by 16, 9 and 4 pp since 2010, while the shares of biomass and electricity have increased by 16 pp and 13 pp, respectively.

Graph: Primary Consumption Trends by Energy Source

Source: Denmark energy report

Interactive Chart Denmark Total Energy Production & Consumption

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data

Denmark Oil Production & Consumption

Crude oil production has been on a downward trend since 2010 (-9.6%/year), especially between 2018 and 2022 (-17%/year), with a slower decline in 2022-2023 (-4.9%/year). In 2024, it even rebounded slightly (+1.2%) to 3 Mt.

Denmark became a net crude oil importer in 2017. Crude oil imports have increased by 2/3 since 2010, reaching 4.6 Mt in 2024, while exports have fallen by 15%/year over the same period. Domestic production covers less than 40% of crude oil consumption (2024).

Graph: Crude Oil Production & Consumption

Source: Denmark energy report

Interactive Chart Denmark Crude Oil Production & Consumption

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data

Interactive Chart Denmark Refined Oil Products Production & Consumption

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data

Denmark Natural Gas Production & Consumption

Gas production increased by 30% to 2.7 bcm in 2024 with the reopening of Tyra field in the North Sea as part of the plan to reduce dependence from Russian gas; it remained broadly stable from 2021 to 2023, and declined by 10%/year since a peak at 10.5 bcm in 2005.

Gas exports more than tripled in 2023 and remained stable in 2024 (8.9 bcm), after rising by around 20%/year from 2019 to 2022. In 2024, gas exports were mainly directed to Poland (80%), the Netherlands (12%) and Sweden (7%).

Source: Denmark energy report

Interactive Chart Denmark Gas Production & Consumption

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data

Denmark Coal and Lignite Production & Consumption

Denmark is completely dependent on imports for its coal supply. In 2024, coal imports dropped by 32% to 0.4 Mt. They have collapsed since 2011 (-18%/year), in line with domestic coal consumption.

Coal consumption is almost exclusively used by the power sector (91% in 2024). It has been falling by 14%/year on average since 2010, due to the surge in wind generation and the conversion of coal-fired units to biomass, with rapid falls in 2023 (-36%) and 2024 (-32%) to less than 1 Mt in 2024.

Graph: Coal Production & Consumption

Source: Denmark energy report

Interactive Chart Denmark Coal and Lignite Production & Consumption

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data

Denmark Renewable in % Electricity Production

Renewables are expected to cover 100% of power consumption in 2028, 90% of district heating consumption, and 55% of the total energy mix in 2030 under the 2018 Energy Agreement and the NECP. It aims to reach at least 9 GW of offshore wind by 2030. In 2024, the share of renewables in final energy consumption reached 46.5% (+ 3 pp), of which 79.7% for electricity, 56.4% for heating (+ 2 pp), and 14.1% for transport (+3 pp). The target of the 2012 Energy Agreement to raise the share of renewables to more than 35% of final energy consumption in 2022 was reached in 2018 (35.7%).

Source: Denmark energy report

Interactive Chart Denmark Share of Renewables in Electricity Production (incl hydro)

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data

Denmark GHG emissions and CO₂ emissions

The Climate Act (2019) set a target to reduce GHG emissions by 70% in 2030 compared to 1990 and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050; the 2024 NECP advances the carbon neutrality target by 5 years to 2045 and reduces emissions by 70% in 2030 and by 110% in 2050.

Source: Denmark energy report

Interactive Chart Denmark CO₂ emissions

Source: Global Energy & CO₂ data