Denmark is giving coal-fired power plants the boot and launching more renewable energy production as it moves to slash greenhouse gas emissions. The nation’s largest energy producer, the Elsam group, will officially close four of its old coal-fired units on July 1. In 1997, 64 percent of Denmark’s total electricity production came from coal; in 1998, the country reduced its use of coal for electricity production by 9 percent. The country’s “Energy 21” plan calls for virtually all coal-fired power plants to be replaced with natural gas or renewable energy sources over the next 25 to 30 years.
