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	Főoldal > Hírek > Newsletter from the Danish Embassy Week 3
	Főoldal > Hírek > Newsletter from the Danish Embassy Week 3

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NEWSLETTER FROM THE DANISH EMBASSY WEEK 3

In this edition of the newsletter:
Concrete facade can lower CO2 emissions
Investment in trans-European green energy grid
Danish islands to assist German offshore wind farm
Environmental plans meets criticism
Denmark’s oldest celebrates again
H.C. Andersen’s letters go online
A really bad hair day

New concrete facade system promises lower CO2 emissions
A dramatic reduction in CO2 emissions from construction could be achieved with a new facade system developed by three Danish companies

A dramatic reduction in CO2 emissions from construction could be achieved with a newly developed facade system, on which three Danish companies have collaborated, writes professional journal Ingeniøren (The Engineer). Architectural firm Arkitema, together with cement producer Contec and concrete element manufacturer Confac have invented a new facade system made of high strength concrete which reduces CO2 emissions by 70% compared with traditional sandwich elements.

A typical sandwich element consists of a front and back slab of concrete containing a core of insulation. If high strength concrete is used for the front and back slab the weight can be reduced by two thirds, and the thinner plates allow more space for insulation. Furthermore, the lightweighted elements allow CO2 emissions from transport to be markedly reduced.

Karsten Bro of Arkitema comments to Ingeniøren that by using high strength concrete, cement consumption is reduced, transportation and installation at the site is easier and less energy-consuming, and it also gives the concrete facade a higher density, which is comparable to a fibre concrete slab when it comes to the self-cleaning effect. "That's one of the big problems with traditional concrete, the facade quickly becomes ugly to look at," says Karsten Bro.

The development work has previously been financially supported by a now-terminated project sponsored by Realdania. The three companies are now seeking investors to further develop the system.

Mega-investment planned in trans-European green energy grid
Nine European countries are reportedly planning a massive renewable energy network around the North Sea that will supply green electricity to much of Europe

German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that nine European countries are planning to join forces in creating a EUR 30 billion renewable energy network around the North Sea, reports ComON. The plan involves the construction of a high-tech electricity grid designed to even out the unavoidable fluctuations in energy production from wind farms and solar arrays, and transport green energy throughout much of Europe.

A high voltage cable network under the North Sea will connect the British, Danish and German offshore wind farms with tidal power plants in Belgium and hydroelectric power plants in Norway, as well as with wind farms and solar arrays on the European mainland. Thousands of kilometres of power cables will be laid to convey the green energy across much of Europe.

One of nine countries is Denmark, which according to Süddeutsche Zeitung agreed to join the comprehensive collaborative venture at a meeting in Ireland in December. The first working groups will take place this month, and a higher level meeting during the spring. In the fall, the nine governments are expected to sign a formal statement of intent and propose a timetable for the project.

To even out the naturally fluctuating energy delivery from wind and solar installations especially, the idea is to transport the energy to Norway, where the electrical energy can be stored as gravitational potential energy by pumping water up to high level reservoirs connected to hydroelectric power stations. The stored energy can then be released on demand simply by opening the sluices to increase power output from the turbines.

European offshore wind farms currently under construction will bring the total wind power capacity to 100 GW, which corresponds to around 10% of Europe's entire energy demand.

Danish island plans service centre for German offshore wind farm
The North Sea port of Rømø plans to become a service and maintenance centre for German offshore wind turbines

The Danish island of Rømø, a small port located on the North Sea coast close to Germany, and currently the base of local fishermen and a ferry route, could be about to transform into a bustling hub for servicing offshore wind turbines planned to be installed in German waters south of the island, reports daily business paper ErhvervsBladet.

The Port of Rømø plans to build a new 400 metre quay, a project estimated to cost the equivalent of USD 57.9 million, and to subdivide a 25 hectare business area close to the port to develop a service and maintenance centre for offshore wind turbines.

Mikkel Glerup, manager of the Port of Rømø, says: "Over a few years, at a conservative estimate, 250-400 new jobs can be created by being the port that services the German wind turbines. But in 10 years, probably between 500 and 1,000 jobs will be created – besides all the derived jobs that follow in its wake."

Some companies have already eyed the business opportunities. The Danish company Blue Water Shipping has established a presence in the port, and a German shipping company has announced that it will locate there.

The costal city of Esbjerg just north of Rømø is developing into Denmark's leading offshore city, but Glerup says that Rømø's big strength is that its port will be the closest to the northern German offshore wind turbines:

"When offshore wind turbines need to be serviced, proximity is the absolutely most important thing. And for the wind farm that will be located in the northern part of the German bay, it is 65 nautical miles from Esbjerg while there is only 27 nautical miles to the Port of Rømø. And the closest German port which is not troubled by low water, lies 120 nautical miles away."

Environment plan criticised
Critics lambast minister’s plan to improve the environment, saying it meets only minimum EU requirements

Environment Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announces self-proclaimed ‘historic’ environmental plan including carbon emissions reductions, cleaner water and improvements for the country’s plant and animal life in his.
‘The last 20 years of nature administration has been characterised by stand-alone projects, but now we’ve presented a comprehensive plan for efforts that run up to 2015,’ Poulsen said at a press conference introducing the new plan.
‘These measures are binding for authorities and landowners and the targets must be reached within the next five years,’ he said.
But experts and politicians have criticised the measure, saying it’s nothing more than a fulfilment of old European Union requirements.
‘The only thing historic about the water and environment plan is that it was a historically slow implementation of EU regulations at the lowest common denominator,’ Mette Gjerskov of the Social Democrats said.
Ella Maria Bisschop-Larsen of the Danish Society for Nature Conservation said the plan would not help save the country’s thousands of threatened species.

‘It won’t stop oxygen depletion in the fjords or create a better wetland environment,’ she told public broadcaster DR. ‘The reductions aren’t enough and the initiatives won’t prevent the deterioration of biological diversity in nature.’
Jørgen E. Olesen, professor at Aarhus University and member of the UN’s climate panel, said the plan failed to consider the negative effects of climate change on wastewater, lakes and the sea before 2016.

‘Climate change has already significantly affected our water environment,’ he told Politiken newspaper. ‘You risk making poor investments, the consequences of which are that it will be even more expensive to correct the situation.’
According to the new plan, the amount of nitrogen along coastlines will be reduced by 19,000 tonnes, while phosphorous in lakes will be reduced by 210 tonnes, and 7300km of waterways will be improved for animal and plant life – all by 2015. More wastewater is also scheduled to be cleaned.
In addition, improvements to the nation’s protected nature areas and forests will be made through preventing further deterioration due to pollution and poor drainage.

Denmark’s oldest celebrates again
Woman living near Roskilde turns 109 and her son credits her longevity to good care and a diet of fish

Happy Birthday and congratulations to Thyra Kongsø, who at the ripe age of 109, is reportedly the oldest living person in Denmark.
Kongsø was born 9 January 1901, when Teddy Roosevelt was the US President, Prince Bernhard von Bülow was Chancellor of the German Empire, and the 63-year reign of Queen Victoria was just about to end in the UK.
Hannibal Sehested was the head of state in Denmark – the last one to be appointed by the monarchy before the process was handed over to parliament.
Although Kongsø’s hearing is a bit weak, she is otherwise in reasonably good health for her age, according to Roskilde Newspaper.
Her son credits much of her longevity to the quality employees at her nursing home and that she primarily ate fish as a child.

Unseen H.C. Andersen letters to go online
Thousands of letters to and from the famous author to be transcribed and put online

From Friday, more than 8800 letters and musings that belonged to Denmark’s most well-known author are to be put online for all to view. The letters, taken from his archive, will be the first of around 11,400 which will be immediately available to view.
Ejnar Stig Askgaard, who is involved in the project, said the publication of the letters will shed light on the author’s private life.
‘This material will give us a much clearer picture of Hans Christian Andersen for, despite knowing so much about him, there still exist many myths about him being dyslexic, as well as rumours about his health and sexual proclivities,’ he said.
In addition to publishing the material, a database will be created so that users can cross reference H.C. Andersen’s written records with other information, such as online encyclopaedia entries.
‘The database will be a tool which, in combination with his diaries will make it possible to follow HC Andersen from day to day for his whole adult life.’ Askgaard told Berlingske Tidende newspaper.
About 20 percent of the letters and records have never been seen before – a factor that Askgaard is anticipating with excitement.
'If there is something unheard of before in one of these letters then of course we will be terribly interested,’ he said.
The letters will be published on the website www.andersen.sdu.dk as a collaborative effort between Odense City Museum and the H.C. Andersen Centre at the University of Southern Denmark.

Really bad hair day
Woman wasn’t quick enough to scoop her doggy poop and got a faceful in return from angry homeowner

An aggrieved man decided there was only one way to teach the owner of a messy dog a lesson – to smear the offending material on her head.

A 41-year-old woman from Silkeborg, Jutland was walking home with her shopping bags when her dog ran into neighbouring garden and did its dirty business.

The 68-year-old homeowner was not amused and demanded the woman clear up after her dog, but the only plastic bag the woman had to hand was the one filled with her shopping.

The woman reportedly offered to run home and return with a bag to scoop up after her dog, but the man didn’t want to hear of it.

‘He was really aggressive. He grabbed the woman by the hair, held on tight to her and rubbed the dog poop all over her head,’ a witness told news website mja.dk.

‘It’s definitely odd behaviour,’ said police officer Jens Claumarch. ‘The man risks being charged with violence or at least for violating public order laws.’

The news is presented by The Copenhagen Post and does not reflect the official policies and opinions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Szerkesztett 2010. január 22.

Dan Külügyminisztérium