This is an opinion piece written by Henrik Carstensen, CEO Port of Grenaa. The post was published in finans.dk on September 12, 2023.
Trust and collaboration must be rebuilt after the Open Door process
To restart the good cooperation on wind turbine projects, the minister should consider alternative options for approval of the many serious "formerly open door projects".
The entire wind industry was in shock when the government slammed the door on the Open Door projects shortly before the summer vacation. There were many projects that were serious projects, close to the coast and created in close collaboration with the municipalities and local businesses.
I'm hardly the only local businessman who is left wondering. Both locally and in the government, we have a common understanding that we need to expand our green electricity in Denmark as soon as possible to ensure security of supply in Denmark and at the same time free ourselves from, for example, Russian gas. It was therefore obvious to approve as many serious Open Door projects as possible.
Specifically, we are of course still working to get the projects through and the green power produced. However, there is also a bigger issue in the whole Open Door process. It is a crucial prerequisite for an effective green transition in Denmark that we can trust each other across government, private window suppliers and manufacturers, municipalities and the business community. We must have confidence in a proper framework for development and predictability in the agreements we enter into with each other.
To restart the good cooperation, the minister could appropriately consider alternative options for approval of the many serious "formerly open door projects". This could be in a transitional arrangement, so that we in the local business community can quickly move forward with turning climate visions into reality.
