Renewable energy from wind power

In 2019, 47% of power used in Denmark came from wind, according to Energinet, which runs the national electrical system. That's up from 41% in 2018, and also beats the record of 43% from 2017.

Denmark is aiming to reduce its greenhouse gases by 70% by 2030, and to achieve net zero greenhouse gases by 2050. "We hope Denmark can inspire other countries to follow suit," said Dan Jørgensen, Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities.

A 2019 European Commission survey found that 92% of people also think that the EU should aim to have net zero greenhouse gases by 2050.

According to WindEurope, 14% of electricity in the European Union (EU) came from wind in 2018. Wind is the second largest source of electricity in the EU after natural gas, and WindEurope expected wind to become the EU's top electricity source in 2019.

Denmark uses the highest percentage of wind power in the EU, but Germany can generate the most total electricity from wind – 59 gigawatts, enough to power almost 150 million German homes. That's about 10 times as much as Denmark, and almost one third of all the wind power in the EU.

But in places like Germany and Ireland, some people think their governments are focusing too much on wind power, and local people don't like to see their forests cut down for wind farms. There are about 1,000 anti-wind power groups in Germany alone, and in 2018, construction of new wind farms in the EU fell by almost a third compared to the year before.

Some people also worry that wind power is dangerous for birds and bats. While bad planning created dangerous wind farms in the US and Spain in the 1980s, they are much safer if built away from paths often flown by birds, and studies have found that many more birds are killed by hitting buildings, vehicles and power lines.