Mass electrification is possible

HENRIK POULSEN, boss of Ørsted, a big Danish wind developer formerly known as Dong Energy, has a dream that may scare sailors and seabirds, but warms the hearts of renewable-energy advocates. He reckons there is scope to install 600,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind capacity in relatively shallow waters off Europe’s Atlantic, Baltic and North Sea coasts, which could supply 80% of Europe’s electricity. “You could turn the northern seas into one large power factory over the next 10-15 years,” he says.