Wind energy is one of the fastest growing low-carbon energy supply options that is mitigating climate change threats with significant emissions reductions. This presentation discusses a comparative case study of Denmark and the Delmarva region in the U.S.[1] in relation to their energy transitions and sheds light on systemic risks and the need for interdisciplinary approaches. With ambitious goals of a fossil free energy system by 2050 and 50% wind energy on their electricity system by 2020, Denmark is well on her way to staying in the forefront of the renewable energy revolution and addressing the urgencies of climate change. The Delmarva region, on the other hand, has modest goals for renewable energy supplies with state renewable portfolio standards. Although one of the regional utilities is moving forward with significant integration of renewable energy supplies and some state politicians are advocating for a climate policy, the national government is rolling back climate-related policies that may affect the speed and the integration of low-carbon sources.
Defining the systemic risks associated with energy transitions in Denmark and the Delmarva region focuses on the following aspects:
- The physical infrastructure: The electricity system – national and multi-national connections and energy supplies,
- Socio-institutional structures: National to local decision making and regulatory frames for siting clean energy technologies within the context of host communities, and
- Public perception, engagement and communication: Community acceptability and tolerability of wind technologies, including the role for compensation and co-ownership schemes.
What can we learn from these 2 very different systems with distinctive drivers for energy transitions? Which potential risk evaluation strategies that deal with systemic risks are “tolerable and politically acceptable” to decision makers as well as host communities? Finally, can we define key aspects of the ripple effects – threats of multiple breakdowns in the critical services, such as blackouts and/or damage to the physical electricity infrastructures within a nation and across borders—that need to be considered by electricity sector managers?
[1] The Delmarva region is a peninsula of the eastern United States including most of Delaware and parts of eastern Maryland and Virginia.