5 de enero de 2008

"Independencia Energética de Dinamarca"


Siguiendo con la tónica de los últimos días, hoy de nuevo otro interesantísimo artículo que nos muestra cómo en unas pocas décadas “Dinamarca consiguió su Independencia Energética” respecto a los combustibles fósiles.


Como fácilmente se puede adivinar, no se puede extrapolar la “receta danesa” a otros países al 100%, pues no en todas las naciones se dan las condiciones geográficas y políticas del país nórdico, pero sí se pueden sacar algunas conclusiones que sirvan de inspiración.



In 1973, in response to the Yom Kippur War between Israel and Egypt, the Organization of Arab Oil Producing Countries began the infamous "Arab oil embargo" - any country that supported Israel in the war would stop receiving shipments of oil. That meant the United States, Japan, and most of Europe. The effect was devastating - soaring oil prices set off a worldwide recession.



Most of the affected countries quickly initiated plans to conserve energy: The United States lowered the speed limit to 55 mph and started programs like "turn off the lights at night."



But when the crisis ended, most nations dropped those programs and went back to their old ways. Denmark was different: being 99% dependent on foreign oil, it was particularly badly hit by the embargo. Determined never again to be at the mercy of their oil suppliers, the Danes kept conserving and worked to produce their own energy.



A COMMUNITY EFFORT:



In 1976 the Danish public got behind an ambitious (and expensive) program to become entirely energy-independent, and, with the development of new, clean energy systems, to get out of the foreign oil business completely. Some of the steps taken:



• Strict energy-efficiency standards were placed on all buildings.



• Gas and automobiles were heavily taxed (Today new cars are taxed at more than 105% of the cost of the car.)



• "District heating systems" were implemented throughout the country, reusing normally wasted heat produced by power plants by piping it directly into homes. Today more than 60% of Danish homes are heated this way.



• The government invested heavily in clean and renewable energy systems, especially wind power. Today 21% of Denmark’s energy production comes from wind farms. On top of that, they lead the world in wind-power technology - another product to export. The industry has created more than 20,000 jobs.



• Rebate campaigns helped people buy more energy-efficient - and therefore more expensive - home appliances. Today more than 95% of new appliances bought in Denmark have an "A" efficiency rating. ("A" is the best; "G" is the worst.)



• They started drilling for - and finding - more oil and natural gas within their own waters in the North Sea. (Showing that no plan is perfect, these efforts have long been opposed by environmentalists.)



• In 2005 the government committed $1 billion to develop and integrate better solar, tidal, and fuel-cell technology




RESULTS:



Denmark is a small nation geographically - roughly half the size of Maine - with a population of about 5.5 million, so that has to be taken into account when comparing it to larger and more populous countries.



Still, the Danes’ accomplishments are startling. Remember that in 1973 Denmark was 99% dependent
on foreign oil? Today they produce enough energy to cover all their own needs and sell the extra to other countries, the only European nation to do so. And their energy conservation programs have been so successful that over the last 30 years, even with extensive modernization and a 7% increase in population, their annual energy use has remained basically the same.



In 2007 the Danes set further goals for the country: They hope to be able to provide 75% of all their energy consumption from wind farms by 2025 - less than two decades from now. "We aim to make Denmark independent of oil, gas, and coal in the long term," Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said, "and strengthen our position as a world leader in clean energy." Svend Auken, a member of the Danish Parliament, added, "It need not be dull, it need not be boring, and we don’t have to give up our lifestyle. We just have to be a little bit smarter about how we live."

6 comentarios:

Anónimo dijo...

A España no se le puede aplicar por extensión de territorio y porque somos 45 millones de personas. Saldría carísimo.

Anónimo dijo...

Los daneses siempre son para admirar. Me encanta ese país.

Anónimo dijo...

Ya. Irán de ecologistas, sí. Pero al igual que Canadá y la Rusia están en primera fila para reclamar derechos sobre el crudo del Ártico.
Veremos si para entonces no dejan esa región echa unos zorros con las extracciones.

Súmmum dijo...

Salvando las distancias, no deja de ser un ejemplo interesante para tomarlo un tanto en consideración.

Persio dijo...

Ya, pero cuál es el coste de la independencia. ¿Un impuesto que doble el precio de los coches? Uf.

Por otro lado, no creo que sea muy barata la energía que así obtienen, con esos molinos de viento tan espantosos.

Adamantio dijo...

Lole, querían su independencia energética del petróleo, no el renunciar a hacer negocio con la dependencia energética de otros jeje.

Y aunque como se ha apuntado, podría producir una subida de impuestos, cabe decir que en el fondo es una trampa, ya que esa subida se debe a que en Dinamarca no hay industria automovilística, y por tanto la gente se los compra en los países vecinos. Pero como también se ha apuntado, esto puede servir de inspiración, no en su totalidad pero sí algunas medidas.

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