Legislation
The conditions for offshore farms are laid down in the
Danish Electricity Supply Act, where the version currently in force
was adopted by Parliament in November 2008[1]. It provides in its §
13, that the right to exploit energy from water and wind within the
territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone (up to 200
nautical miles) around Denmark belongs to the Danish State.
Consequently, 3 licences are required to establish an offshore wind
project in Denmark. All licences are given by the Danish Energy
Agency:
- Licence to conduct preliminary studies for a future offshore
wind project on certain specified conditions(§ 13)
- Licence to establish of the offshore wind farm on certain
specified conditions (§16)
- Licence to produce electricity on certain specified conditions
(§13).
The 3 licences are given successively for a specific area, and
if a project is expected to have an environmental impact an EIA
must be carried out. This has been the case for all the existing
Danish offshore wind farms. The specific procedure for the
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regarding offshore
electricity producing installations is described in Executive Order
no. 815 of 28. August 2000 that also includes sections that
implement the EU EIA directive (97/11/1997).
Permitting procedures
The Danish Energy Agency is the planning authority for electricity
generating installations at sea. Thus, investors need to receive
licences from the Danish Energy Agency when an offshore wind power
project is to be established – in that way the Energy Agency serves
as a“One-stop-shop” for the project developer in relationship to
the many, often opposing, interests connected to the establishment
of offshore wind power projects According to the provisions of the
Electricity Act §14, all Danish offshore wind projects must get
permission either through a call for tenders or the open-door
procedure. The tree required permissions are however the same for
both type of projects.
Call for tenders
In a call for tender the Danish State takes initiative to the
establishment of a wind installation at a specific location in the
Danish waters. Interested parties from all over the world can then
apply to develop the project. The Danish State pays the expenses
related to the cable connection from the wind installation to the
electricity grid. The winner of the project will be determined
based on a set of criteria, in which the lowest price/ kWh will be
a parameter. Moreover, an assessment of the company’s general
ability to manage such project will be carried out. The price per
kWh has so far been given as a fixed settling price (market price +
variable premium) by the State in the call for tenders. That means
that the investor is ensured a stable price for the electricity
produced, and will receive a premium from the State if the market
price is lower than the fixed settling price. The main part of the
deployed offshore wind capacity has been carried out via call for
tenders.
Open-door procedure
In an open-door procedure the applicant takes the
initiative to establish the wind installation by applying for a
licence to carry out preliminary studies, establish installations
and produce electricity. On the basis of a specific application,
the Danish Energy Agency may decide that deployment can be allowed
in the area as requested The investor of the wind installation pays
the grid connection from the installation to the nearest point on
shore. The investor is subsidized by the State with 0, 25 DKK
feed-in tariff DKK/kWh on top of the market price as well as 0,023
DKK per produced kWh to cover balancing costs.