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547. The Truth About Russian Oil, Net Zero, and North Sea Drilling

Explore episode Jun 24, 2026

Where this was said

Grid Curtailment: The Absurdity of Paying to Switch Off Wind Turbines

At 39:50 · chapter starts 38:10

Dan Jørgensen uses a remarkable anecdote to illustrate the grid problem viscerally: when he was Danish minister, Denmark would sometimes produce so much wind energy that the German grid couldn't take it. The result? German taxpayers paid Danish operators to switch their turbines off — at the same time Danish taxpayers were being told they needed to subsidise those very turbines. This is grid curtailment in practice, and it reveals that the biggest danger to the European energy transition is not a lack of renewable generation capacity but a lack of transmission capacity to deliver that electricity where it's needed. Tidal power, raised by listener James, is addressed briefly: Jørgensen sees it as a future technology with real potential but notes it remains tiny compared to wind and solar today.

Technology
Denmark's First Offshore Wind Park Was Mocked. Now It Powers the World.

547. The Truth About Russian Oil, Net Zero, and North Sea D… · Jun 24, 2026 Technology

When Denmark built the world's first offshore wind park in 1991, the reaction was ridicule. Three decades later, offshore wind competes on price with coal and gas globally and is central to energy strategies from Britain to Asia. The lesson: back new technologies early, even when they look absurd.

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