Is Denmark in breach of EU law?

Processing is suspended pending further clarification of EU legal issues, the Danish Energy Agency announced yesterday.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Energy Supply, in dialogue with the Government Secretariat for State Aid, has found that the granting of permits for offshore wind and other renewable energy projects under the Open Door programme may violate EU law. The Danish Energy Agency has therefore suspended the processing of all pending cases under the 'Open Door' scheme until its relationship with EU law has been further investigated. This also applies to new applications.

The Danish Energy Agency has informed the stakeholders concerned and will keep them informed about the further procedure in each case. The issues raised should be clarified as soon as possible with the support of the relevant ministries.

Under the Open Door programme, turbines with more than 15 gigawatts of offshore wind energy were to be built. Green Power Denmark, the country's renewable energy association, reacted with horror. "This is an absolute novelty. The government suddenly slams the door on the green energy transition with a bang, sending shock waves through the entire green energy sector. Companies have done a lot of groundwork and are ready to produce more green energy, and then the government pulls the plug on the open door programme at the last minute. That's just not right. It's a break with the way we have conducted energy policy in Denmark in the past and creates enormous uncertainty for green investments," criticises Kristian Jensen, CEO of Green Power Denmark.

"The decision is a major blow to our climate targets. Now we are left with the planned nine gigawatts of offshore wind power for which the tenders have not even started yet. At the same time, the expansion of onshore wind and solar is creeping ahead. We are in a situation where we urgently need green power for our 2030 climate targets, our power-to-X ambitions and our goal of becoming a net exporter of green power."

"This is another example of extreme zigzagging on climate and energy. There is no lack of climate policy ambition, but the revenue cap, the reform of the electricity market and now the abolition of the open door programme create unease for green investments and weaken confidence in Denmark among developers and investors. Denmark and the climate need the cheap, green electricity that comes from projects with