Denmark already gets **90.4% of its electricity from low-carbon sources**, an impressive achievement. Over the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026, wind supplied more than half of electricity consumption, at about 57%, while biofuels provided about 19% and solar almost 15%. Fossil sources supplied roughly 7%, including gas at around 3% and coal at around 2%, with net imports accounting for another 3%. The next challenge is to electrify transport, heating and industry, which will require much more clean electricity.

Is Electricity Growing in Denmark?

Denmark’s electricity growth presents a mixed picture. The latest 2026 electricity consumption figure is about **6,100 kWh per person**, roughly 4,100 kWh—or 40%—below the historic record of about 10,200 kWh in 1996. This substantial gap highlights the need for stronger electricity growth to support electrification and emerging demand, including AI. Encouragingly, low-carbon electricity generation has reached a new record of about **5,500 kWh per person**, nearly 500 kWh, or about 10%, above the previous record set in 2024. Clean generation is advancing, even though overall electricity consumption remains far below its historic peak.

Suggestions

Denmark can build on this progress by expanding wind and solar, which already generate large amounts of its electricity. Additional onshore and offshore wind capacity, together with more rooftop and utility-scale solar, would strengthen its clean electricity supply. Investment in grids, storage and flexible electricity consumption would help make this growing output available when needed. Denmark should also consider nuclear as a complementary low-carbon source, alongside further solar expansion, to support a much larger clean electricity system and reduce reliance on fossil fuels that contribute to climate change and air pollution.

History

Denmark’s low-carbon electricity history shows sustained expansion, especially in wind. From the late 1990s through the 2000s, notable annual wind gains ranged from about 0.9 to 1.2 TWh. The 2010s brought larger increases, including 2 TWh in both 2011 and 2014, another 2 TWh in 2017, and 2.3 TWh in 2019; a disappointing 1.4 TWh decline in 2016 interrupted that progress. Biofuel generation also increased by 1.3 TWh in 2010 and 1.4 TWh in 2017. In the 2020s, biofuels added 2 TWh in 2021, wind added 3 TWh in 2022, solar added 1.2 TWh in 2023, and wind added another 1.2 TWh in 2024. Wind’s 1.5 TWh decline in 2025 was a setback, but its 1.8 TWh rebound in 2026 was encouraging, alongside a 0.9 TWh increase in biofuel generation.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.