Is electric heating renewable energy?
A growing portion of electricity use in Denmark is covered by wind energy. In 2015 more than 42% of the total electricity use was covered by wind. Add to this solar cells and power generation based on biomass, which means that more than 50% of the total electricity consumption is based on renewable energy.
Renewable energy will increase in the coming years, partly due to the expansion of wind power, partly because a number of power plants are switching from coal to biomass.
The remaining power consumption is covered by power plants using fossil fuels, especially natural gas and coal. Electric heating can therefore not be defined as 100% renewable energy, but about 50%.
Consistency between production and consumption - the great challenge
The production of electricity from wind turbines and solar cells varies from day to day. General consumption is more predictable, but varies greatly in relation to the time of day, time of the week and in relation to holidays etc. The big challenge is to get production and consumption to match better.
Electric heating in church. Tube furnace under bench. Photo: Carsten Vejborg