Denmark’s Orsted on Thursday announced that it will shut down its last coal-fired combined heat and power plant this week, marking a milestone in its clean energy transition.
According to a statement, the company will close its coal-fired plant at Esbjerg Power Station in Western Denmark on Aug. 31.
Set up in 1992, the power plant has significantly contributed to the Danish energy system, delivering electricity and heating to the municipality of Esbjerg.
The yearly coal consumption at Esbjerg Power Station has been about 500,000 tonnes, equivalent to about 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. It corresponds to the annual emissions from about 600,000 fossil-fueled cars in the EU.
“Shutting down the last of our coal-fired heat and power plants marks the end of a chapter in our green transformation,” said Ole Thomsen, senior vice president and head of Orsted’s bioenergy business, in the statement.
Once one of Europe’s most coal-dependent energy companies, 85 percent of Orsted’s heat and power production in 2008 was based on fossil fuels.
The company has already reduced its scope 1-2 emissions intensity by 92 percent from 2006 to 2023 and was the first energy company to get a science-based net-zero target.
Shutting down the plant is the last major step on Orsted’s journey toward meeting its target of a 99 percent green share of energy generation by 2025.
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