54 PERSPECTIVES ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS | VOL 41 | 2023 capture. Understanding the current energy mix in conjunction with plans for an expansion of renewable energy production, the electrification of the society, and the short-term utilization of bioenergy as a transition fuel is important to an evaluation of the achievability of Denmark’s sustainability goals. Danish energy mix Denmark must produce enough sustainable energy in order to meet existing and future demands for energy, while continuing to lower domestic emissions to meet national carbon emission goals. In terms of total energy production, Denmark produces 398 petajoules (PJ) of energy. (For reference, 1 PJ is enough energy to power 19,000 households for one year.) This figure has decreased dramatically as the country produced 1165 PJ and 979 PJ of energy in 2000 and 2010, respectively. In 2000, more than 1000 PJ of energy were produced using the combustion of fossil fuels, decreasing to approximately 830 PJ in 2010. By 2020, energy from fossil fuel combustion accounted for 201 PJ of total energy production. The largest changes in total energy production by source come from crude oil and natural gas. In 2000, Denmark produced 765 PJ from crude oil and 310 PJ from natural gas. In 2020, Denmark produced 151 PJs from crude oil and 50 PJ from natural gas (Danish Energy Agency, 2020a). This massive dropoff in energy produced domestically by fossil fuel combustion reflects the effectiveness of the Danish climate strategy. Energy production comes from four main sources, as shown in Figure 1 in decreasing order based on percentage of total production: renewables (including bioenergy), crude oil, natural gas, and nonrenewable combustion of waste. Renewable energy comprises 181 PJ (45.4%) of total energy produced. The country derives 151 PJ (38.0%) of energy from crude oil as well as 49 PJ (12.5%) from natural gas. Finally, the remaining 16 PJ (4.0%) of total production is sourced via the combustion of nonrenewable waste (Danish Energy Agency, 2020a). Energy usage is not directly tied to domestic energy production. In 2020, Denmark consumed a total adjusted gross energy of 700 PJ, down from 1990 and 2000, when the country consumed 819 PJ and 839 PJ of energy, respectively. This decrease in energy consumption created an opportunity for the nation to shift away from fossil fuels. Currently, the country produces renewable energy accounting for 45.4% of domestic energy production. However, the percentage of renewable energy consumption sits at 40.3%. This discrepancy is attributable to energy imports. Denmark is less dependent on energy imports than other nearby nations but still imports significant amounts of biomass, crude oil, natural gas, and coal. In 2020, Denmark imported 761 PJ of total energy, whereas the nation exported 451 PJ. This makes Figure 1 Energy production by source, in petajoules Source: Danish Energy Agency, 2020a.
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