The Danish renewable energy company brought momentum to the green transition with groundbreaking subsidy-free green energy and biodiversity initiatives.
In 2019, Better Energy initiated and built solar projects with a total capacity of 269 MW, and significantly increased annual construction capacity for the coming years. The company increased its project pipeline to 5 GW of solar projects at different stages of development in Denmark and Poland. By the end of 2019, Better Energy had 358 MW of subsidy-free solar energy capacity contracted and under delivery. Financial results continued to be positive and revenue increased to DKK 528 million in 2019. Gross profit stands at DKK 49 million and profit for the year at DKK 21 million.
“Growth and development in Better Energy have gone significantly faster than we could have expected. In 2019, we retained ownership of the majority of our solar projects that will generate revenue on a long-term basis through the sale of green energy. This independence as a power producer with our own integrated value chain enables us to innovate new green energy product solutions and adapt them to the needs of companies and other major consumers of electricity,” explains Better Energy CEO Rasmus Lildholdt Kjær.
New subsidy-free green energy
The transition to renewable energy sources can only be achieved by adding new renewable energy to our energy supply. Only by creating and adding new renewable energy can fossil fuels be phased out of the energy system.
Until now, renewable energy has been helped into the market by government subsidies and support schemes. The granting of this support has had the effect of additionality, the fact that new renewable energy plants have been built and new renewable energy has been added to the energy supply.
“The renewable energy industry is now undergoing a profound change from being subsidy driven to market driven. We are entering a new subsidy-free era in which the growth of renewables is being driven by market forces and corporate demand. Companies purchasing electricity through power purchase agreements now have the effect of additionality because they directly help new plants get built,” says Better Energy CEO Rasmus Lildholdt Kjær, and explains further:
“Corporate power purchase agreements with additionality are now a critical tool in adding new renewables to the grid and phasing out fossil fuels in our energy system. New affordable green energy is now available for companies to purchase. Companies need to make a change – and make a choice – to make a difference.”
Renewable energy development and biodiversity can go hand in hand
Society depends on ecosystem services and many of these are vulnerable to collapse. The variety of plant and animal life makes ecosystems strong in the face of change. Europe’s biodiversity is under severe threat from habitat loss, pollution, unsustainable use of land and climate change.
Rasmus Lildholdt Kjær explains how commercial and environmental interests can succeed together, and how Better Energy can make a difference:
“There is an acute biodiversity crisis, which presents a global threat, just as serious as climate change. The green transition must contain a broad commitment to sustainability. More than ever before, we need to ensure that our ecosystems can stay resilient and recover from change. In 2019, we began to focus more specifically on the synergies between CO2 reduction and biodiversity. Consideration for climate, nature and people must be integral to all our projects and solutions to create a better future.”
