Samsø 100% Renewable Energy Island, Denmark

The island of Samsø is a demonstration case for a community to be supplied with 100% renewable energy. The island covers 114 km²  and has 4,400 inhabitants. The most important means of achieving the objective of 100% community renew-able energy supply have been:

 • Cuts in consumption and increased efficiency in terms of heat & electricity during the period of 1998-2008. Improved housing insulation and the technical effectiveness of heating plants should make it possible to save 21% of heating requirements on average. The target for average savings is about 25% of electricity consumption.

• Expansion of the district heating supply systems and individual heating systems using local biomass resources.
About 60% of the total heating on Samsø is expected to be supplied from district heating based on biomass (straw, wood and biogas), heat pumps, and solar ther-mal collectors. The remaining 40% is in the rural areas, where houses are planned to supply heating individually by wood stoves, heat pumps and solar thermal col-lectors.

Presently, roughly 25% of the residences in the rural areas are now sup¬plied entirely from renewable energy sources. The other residents of rural areas complement their RE heating supplies with conventional heat. The concept of neighbour heating has also been integrated, allowing farmers to supply neighbours with heat produced at the farm, for example from a large straw boiler.

• Construction of wind power plants to cover electricity production.
Eleven 1-MW land-based wind turbines cover 100% of the electricity consump-tion of the island. An offshore wind farm was installed in 2002 and contains ten 2.3-MW wind turbines. Their production is a compensation for the fossil-fuel en-ergy supply in the transport sector. The ownership is a mix of co-operatives, pri-vate and the local municipality.

• Gradual conversion of the transport sector from petrol to biofuels, electricity and, later, to hydrogen: The development of alternative fuels is slow but some biofuel projects are in progress. A rapeseed press has been installed to produce pure plant oil for diesel cars. The future hydrogen based transport is under development.

100% Samsø Success

All of these actions have led to an impressive 100% renewable energy coverage of the electricity consumption, which has remained stable even as people have obtained more electrical equipment. The activities started in 1998, and in 2005, Samsø produced 130% of its electricity needs without CO₂ emissions, exporting a surplus of approximately 80,000 MWh to the mainland from the offshore turbines.

The success is a story of local commitment and global responsibility. One of the key actors, the association of the Samsø Energy and Environment Office, is also an active member of INFORSE.

In  2006, an “Energy Academy” opened on Samsø. It is a house where scientists and researchers can meet, seminars and training sessions are arranged and a permanent exhibition demonstrates renewable energy and local sustainable development.

One of the key actors, the association of the Samsø Energy and Environment Office, is also an active member of INFORSE.