A Fossil Fuel Free Island?

An island off mainland Denmark will continue to be a 100per cent free of fossil fuel after the Danish government pledged 7.5 million kroner.

16:08 29 December 2015

An island off mainland Denmark will continue to be 100per cent free of fossil fuel in the next 15 years after it received 7.5 million kroner funding from the Danish government.

 

The island, Samso, which had been hailed as the inspiration to solving the world’s energy crisis, has been sourcing all its electricity from a combination of wind, solar, and geothermal energy.

 

However, proposed budget cuts to green funding by the Danish government this year threatened to stop the island’s goal of running completely fossil-fuel free. In October, Samso was dropped from the government’s list of grant receipt.

 

However, the government quickly made a U-turn on the policy and pledged £674,000 to the cause of being a "fossil free island" by 2030.

 

Soren Hermansen, director of the Samsø Energy Academy, said: "It's certainly a relief. It's fantastic, that we can continue. We have perspective that go above and beyond our current means, and are thinking several years ahead.”

 

"It's also a sign that we're onto something - there was broad support for the pledge."