Environmental report for Danish electricity and CHP 2012
http://energinet.dk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Engelske%20dokumenter/Klimaogmiljo/Environmental%20report%20for%20Danish%20electricity%20and%20CHP%20-%20summary%20of%20the%20status%20year%202012.pdf
Emission of CO2 from the Danish power and CHP generation fell by 17.3 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011 and the development thus follows the same tendency as was seen from 2010 to 2011. The fall in the last two years is due to a considerable fall in generation from the thermal power stations based on coal, oil and natural gas. In comparison, the consumption of biofuels increased considerably from 2009 to 2010, and has subsequently been at a relatively constant and high level.
Special conditions for power generation in 2012
The development of market and climatic conditions has considerable significance to the generation and thus for the environmental impact of Danish electricity and CHP.
Special conditions in 2012 were:
• Larger Danish import of Nordic hydropower, extensive wind production and lower electricity consumption meant low thermal power generation
• The share of fossil fuels for power generation fell to a record-low level. In particular, two larger coal-fired power station units were decommissioned in 2012 (Ensted and Asnæs)
• The installed capacity of privately owned photovoltaic cell units under 6 kWp was by the end of 2012 approx. 400 MWp. Corresponding to an expected power generation of approx. 1 per cent of the Danish electricity consumption in 2013.
A note on that last sentence. 1% may not look like much from the armchair, but it has a disproportional effect on how the numbers are viewed. German consumption has also dropped, even with nearly full employment, -1.8% at mid-year as I remember. No one seems to have commented on it.
Power consumption in Denmark fell from 2011-2012 by 1 per cent, which among other things is due to the massive increase in installed privately owned photovoltaic cell units. The photovoltaic cells are subject to net settlement and the electricity meter therefore has to run backwards, meaning that the photovoltaic cell generation is observed as a decrease in the power consumption.
There's too much here to hang onto while going through it. I searched this site first to see if it had been posted previously; apparently it hasn't, but I did encounter all sorts of claims that this kind of progress could never work. Now we're beginning to see that it can. Needless to say, it's a must-read.
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