DONG Energy to Stop All Use of Coal by 2023

Feb 2, 2017 4:00 AM ET

DONG Energy has decided that by 2023, coal will no longer be used as fuel at the company's power stations. The decision goes hand in hand with the aim to reduce CO2 emissions in power and heat generation with 96% as compared to 2006. Read about how they are working to materialize this vision in their 2016 Sustainability Report “Energy for a sustainable future”. 

Since 2006, DONG Energy has reduced its coal consumption by 73 per cent, and the company has now decided to entirely phase out the use of coal. By 2023, the use of coal as fuel at DONG Energy's power stations will have stopped completely. 

"We've decided to take the final step and phase out the use of coal at all our power stations. The future belongs to renewable energy sources, and therefore we're now converting the last of our coal-fired power stations to sustainable biomass," says Henrik Poulsen, CEO.

DONG Energy has reduced its coal consumption through a reduction in the number of power stations as well as conversions to sustainable biomass instead of coal. At the same time, the company has constructed more production capacity based on offshore wind than any other company in the world. This means that in just one decade, DONG Energy will have gone from being one of the most coal-intensive utilities in Europe to being among the greenest energy companies in Europe. DONG Energy is the first among the large European energy companies to decide to phase out coal for the production of electricity and heating completely. 

Report highlights
In DONG Energy´s Sustainability Report 2016 you can read about how the company;

  • plans to end the use of coal by 2023.
  • works to ensure that 100% of the biomass used in power and heat generation can be documented as sustainably sourced by 2020.
  • contributes to the development of the offshore wind industry, for instance by considerably reducing the price of offshore wind.
  • has reduced their CO2 emissions with 52% since 2006, and aim to reach a 96% reduction in 2023.
  • accounts for more than half of Denmark’s CO2 reductions since 2006.

“We are proud to present such strong results on our previous sustainability commitments, combined with even more ambitious targets for the future. This is in line with our vision to lead the way in the transformation to a sustainable energy system and create a leading green energy company,” says Filip Engel, Director of Group Sustainability. 

Media Contact:
Carsten Kjær
+4599557765

Read the Report