The green tripartite agreement marks a comprehensive change to our landscape, to say the least 390.000 hectares of agricultural land taken out of operation. With a change on that scale, it is crucial that all considerations are taken into account, which the agreement also bears the stamp of a part of the way. But the three parties overlook an important consideration in land use in the open country, namely the goal of quadrupling renewable energy (RE) on land by 2030.

Solar cells and wind turbines are often built on agricultural land. When so much agricultural land has to be taken out of service, it is crucial that renewable energy is included in the implementation of the green tripartite. This is not only a national objective, but also a matter of optimal land use. The renewable energy expansion must not become an obstacle to the implementation of the agreement, just as the implementation of the agreement must not hinder the renewable energy expansion either.

In fact, the expansion of green electricity can create better incentives for farmers to apply for the voluntary schemes in the green tripartite agreement. If the farmer can profit from renting, except for low-lying land or land where forests are to grow, to green energy installers, it can help both the climate, nature and the farmer's wallet.

Going forward, the demand for green electricity will grow dramatically. And the expansion of green energy in Denmark is going the wrong way right now. Therefore, we must promote coexistence between nature and renewable energy, so that we get a double climate benefit when taking out agricultural land through green tripartite. Emissions from agricultural land are slowed down, while the land is used to replace fossil energy with green energy.

So how do we do it?

Firstly, there are great opportunities to combine the removal of 250.000 hectares of land for new forest with the installation of green electricity. Wind turbines have a lifespan that roughly corresponds to how long it takes for a tree to grow up. Therefore, the windmills can spin, while small shoots become large oak trees. There is even the option of letting the wind turbines spin over the treetops in the new forest – as they do in Sweden. It then requires changes in parts of the Danish legislation, which currently prevents the installation of wind turbines in forests, of course with the necessary consideration for nature, bats and outdoor life.

Second, we should exploit the full potential of combining solar cells with the extraction of low-lying soils. This is already happening today, but the support schemes, including the KlimaLavbundsordningen, which are strengthened with green tripartite, do not enable the establishment of green electricity on the designated areas. We should change that.

Therefore, we hope that you, Jeppe Bruus, and the parties in the Folketinget will listen not just to us, but to the government's own National Energy Crisis Staff, which recommends planning according to multifunctional land use in order to get all considerations to go up. It cannot be done everywhere. But where it can, the parties of the Folketing in the negotiations and the implementation of the green tripartite must ensure the necessary framework that promotes the synergy between more nature and renewable energy, so that we ensure a greener Denmark all around.

This debate paper was written by Bjarke Møller, Director of the Green Transition Denmark and Ulrich Bang, Deputy Director of Climate, Energy and Environment in Danish Business and has been brought to the Alting for Energy and Supply on 7 October 2024.