homehome Home chatchat Notifications


In two years, wind energy in Denmark will be 2 times cheaper than fossil fuels

Wind is already the cheapest form of energy in Denmark, and prices will plummet in the near future, the country’s government declared – 2 years from now, in 2016, wind energy will be 2 times cheaper than fossil fuels energy. Wind and solar energy are already nearing parity with energy from fossil fuels in many […]

Henry Conrad
July 31, 2014 @ 6:32 am

share Share

Wind is already the cheapest form of energy in Denmark, and prices will plummet in the near future, the country’s government declared – 2 years from now, in 2016, wind energy will be 2 times cheaper than fossil fuels energy.

Wind and solar energy are already nearing parity with energy from fossil fuels in many parts of the world; even without any tax breaks, wind and solar cost about as much as natural gas energy even in some states of the US, but the American government continues to pour subsidies into fossil fuels. But Denmark chose a different path.

Denmark wants renewables to be dirt cheap; they want them to be so cheap, that only a fool would opt for other types of energy – and with new wind facilities, they’re well on track to do just that. By 2016, wind energy will be the cheapest form of energy by a wide margin.

“Electricity from two new onshore wind power facilities set to begin operating in 2016 will cost around 5 euro cents per kilowatt-hour,” Yale 360 explains. “Wind power would remain the cheapest energy option even if interest rates on wind power projects were to increase by 10 percent, the report found.”

Just so we’re clear, they didn’t even factor in the negative health and environmental effects of burning fossil fuels – this analysis was made simply on the energy market prices. If we also factor in those, the margin grows even wider.

Yesterday, Germany announced that it is already making 28.5 percent of its energy needs with clean sources, while in 2000, that figure was just 6 percent. Spain also obtains almost 20 percent from solar and wind, and virtually all of the European Union is making strides towards a sustainable energy sector.

share Share

This 5,500-year-old Kish tablet is the oldest written document

Beer, goats, and grains: here's what the oldest document reveals.

A Huge, Lazy Black Hole Is Redefining the Early Universe

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a massive, dormant black hole from just 800 million years after the Big Bang.

Did Columbus Bring Syphilis to Europe? Ancient DNA Suggests So

A new study pinpoints the origin of the STD to South America.

The Magnetic North Pole Has Shifted Again. Here’s Why It Matters

The magnetic North pole is now closer to Siberia than it is to Canada, and scientists aren't sure why.

For better or worse, machine learning is shaping biology research

Machine learning tools can increase the pace of biology research and open the door to new research questions, but the benefits don’t come without risks.

This Babylonian Student's 4,000-Year-Old Math Blunder Is Still Relatable Today

More than memorializing a math mistake, stone tablets show just how advanced the Babylonians were in their time.

Sixty Years Ago, We Nearly Wiped Out Bed Bugs. Then, They Started Changing

Driven to the brink of extinction, bed bugs adapted—and now pesticides are almost useless against them.

LG’s $60,000 Transparent TV Is So Luxe It’s Practically Invisible

This TV screen vanishes at the push of a button.

Couple Finds Giant Teeth in Backyard Belonging to 13,000-year-old Mastodon

A New York couple stumble upon an ancient mastodon fossil beneath their lawn.

Worms and Dogs Thrive in Chernobyl’s Radioactive Zone — and Scientists are Intrigued

In the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, worms show no genetic damage despite living in highly radioactive soil, and free-ranging dogs persist despite contamination.