Posts Tagged ‘Bornholm’
Come back and stand by Bornholm’s home guard wants former members to rejoin
The home guard on Bornholm this week sent out letters to 250 of its former members, asking them to consider rejoining the volunteer force, which currently numbers 300. It is a mission that will not be hard to complete: concerns about Moscow’s next move after Ukraine has led to a surge in the number of home-guard members nationwide. Last year, the number of new volunteers increased 35% from the previous year, the most in over four decades.
More military spending will also help. Copenhagen has vastly increased its defence budget in recent years. Only a fraction of this will go to the home guard, but the money will be used directly on the types of things that matter most to soldiers: guns, body armour and sleeping bags.
For islanders, the big motivator is geography. Being far removed from Denmark proper and having been left to fend for itself in the past has left its mark on islanders, and their home guard unit can operate with a greater degree of autonomy than units elsewhere in Denmark. Some residents and military experts want the military to take it a step further and reactivate Bornholms Værn, a volunteer militia that had existed for 400 years until it was disbanded in 2000.
Prior to Russian invasion of Ukraine, the home guard was mostly tasked with helping civil authorities and the police. Today, support for the regular army is increasingly being added to those duties, and the local commander expects more missions of that sort in the years to come. To keep up, he must keep the home guard returning.
Read MoreBornholm’s bright idea for charging cars has proved its potential
An experiment in Rønne, on Bornholm, that has seen three streetlights doubling as charging points for electric cars since last May is being wound down after demonstrating its potential.
To date, there have been over 500 charging sessions. That, according to Beof, the island’s power company, is enough for it to conclude that the idea of integrating charging points into urban infrastructure is viable.
Beof and Spirii, which installs and runs charging kit, have been running the year-long project with the permission of the island council. Its members must now decide whether to make charging points a permanent fixture on street lights. Beof’s advice is that they should, since it would make it easy to build-out a charging network, without having to add new infrastructure to an often-cluttered cityscape.
For councils elsewhere considering something similar, the use rate is a good argument in favour of proceeding, but Beof underscores the need for clear guidelines and healthy portion of foresight. Without them, the idea is likely to short-circuit.
Read MoreNo time at the present Bornholm’s green industry estate on stand-by
Bornholm should table its proposed industry estate until Copenhagen decides whether it will go ahead with its plans to build the converter station for two off-shore wind farms that would power the facility, an island council committee says.
A vote will be put before the full council later this month, but Jacob Trøst, the mayor, believes the national government’s decision in January to wait until after the German federal election to make its final decision makes proceeding impractical.
It is hoped that Germany will purchase the majority of the 3 megawatts of electricity the wind farms would produce. The rest is expected to be sent to eastern Denmark, but Bornholm would like some of it to be used to power an industry estate that would act as a crucible for energy start-ups.
Island businesses want work on the industry estate to continue. Questions like where it would be placed and when it would come on-line may be unanswerable at the moment, but, argues Michael Almeborg, the chair of the local chapter of DI, that should not stop the council from lining up the firms who will want to hear the answers when the council finally has them.
Read MoreJacqueline Kristensen joins TASK Engineering
TASK Engineering continues to grow, adding an HR co-ordinator to its Bornholm organisation as its offshore wind activities expand.
Jacqueline’s role will be to optimise TASK Engineering’s HR structure in an effort to ensure that the the firm has a working environment that takes responsibility for its staff. She will help to create a support system for all the topics that matter to TASK Engineering employees.
Connect with Jacqueline on LinkedIn
Read MoreThis grid is an island A battery will help Bornholm get more out of renewables
One of the ironies of Bornholm’s power grid is that, even though most of the island’s electricity is generated on the island, it is not until the undersea cable linking it to Sweden cuts out that Beof, the local power company, goes into island mode. Sadly for the environment, this means decoupling the wind turbines that give the island most of its energy and firing up four diesel-powered generators. The thinking is that green ambitions are good, but the 25 megawatts of stable energy the generators can deliver are critical for keeping the grid stable.
In 2026, however, Beof will flip the switch on a 10 megawatt battery that will help maintain grid stability, and not just in the event of an emergency. Developed with Hitachi Energy, the battery addresses the fundamental challenge that arises when relying on unpredictable renewable energy to meet predictable demand. Since no-one is talking about going back to oil or coal, the only supply-side option is to come up with a way balance the two. The Bornholm battery will accomplish this by absorbing excess electricity when the wind is blowing, or the sun is shining, and then deliver it back when it is needed.
The battery’s importance extends beyond local energy needs. Energinet, the national grid operator, views such technologies as essential for future energy systems, and Bornholm could provide a model. In a world that is going green, island mode may soon become the new black.
Read MoreSwedes preparing to receive Bornholm refugees
Amid Swedish fears of Russian expansionism in the Baltic, local authorities in Ystad say they are preparing for a situation in which they receive refugees from Bornholm.
Ystad is a Swedish council, but it is the mainland port for the primary ferry serving the Danish island.
The Swedish military considers Bornholm, along with other Baltic islands, as targets of potential Russian attacks, and that has led Ystad council to include refugees from the island in its civil-defence planning.
Police on Bornholm are responsible for co-ordinating civil defence. In the event of an attack, they say their directions would come from Copenhagen, but Ystad officials have called for co-ordination at the council level with Bornholm.
Source: Ystad Allehanda / TV2/Bornholm
Read MoreBornholm’s off-season tourism growth offsets summer decline
The number of overnight stays on Bornholm grew marginally in 2024, but more visitors outside of the summer season and an increase in the number of visitors from non-core markets suggests that the island’s second-largest industry may be poised for growth in the years to come.
End-of-year statistics published by Destination Bornholm, the island’s tourism board, show the number of overnight stays rose at an annual rate of 0.1% in 2024, to 1,691,257.
Denmark and Germany remained the two largest markets for Bornholm’s 4.1 billion kroner (€550 million) tourism industry. Though fewer Danes and Germans are visiting during the July-August high season, the decline has been somewhat made up by an increase in the number of visitors in shoulder seasons. The result is a tourism season that now spans from March to December.
Destination Bornholm highlighted significant—if small—increases in the numbers of visitors from emerging markets, including France, Italy, the UK and America, that it reckons could make up for the high-season decline.
Read MoreAnders Wiberg named interim head of Destination Bornholm
Six months after joining Destination Bornholm, Anders Wiberg has been named interim head of the island’s publicly funded tourism-promotion agency.
Anders joined Destination Bornholm in August as the head of marketing and tourism information. He takes over the reins of the outfit after the unexpected resignation of its now-former director.
Anders will serve as interim head until February 2026.
Connect with Anders on LinkedIn
Read MoreLars Nordahl joins the board of Danish Ports
Danish Ports strengthens its board with Lars Nordahl, CEO of Port of Roenne, as a new member.
Lars, in his role as CEO of Port of Roenne, has been instrumental in consolidating the port’s position as a central part of Bornholm’s infrastructure and a key player in the green transition in the Baltic Sea. Port of Roenne serves as Bornholm’s primary supply port, a hub for cruise tourism, and an essential shipping port for the wind energy industry.
According to Tine Kirk, CEO of Danish Ports, Lars has transformed Port of Roenne into a vital player in the port sector. “Port of Roenne is a role model for green transition and has become a growth engine for Bornholm. We look forward to benefiting from Lars’s experience and vision in our efforts to strengthen Danish commercial ports,” she states.
Danish Ports is the trade organisation for Danish commercial ports, working to highlight the importance of ports in green transition, local development, and economic growth. With Lars joining the board, the organisation aims to continue emphasising the significant societal role played by ports.
Related article } The Bornholm advantage
Read MoreEnergiø Bornholm has every chance of becoming a good business for Denmark
Doubts have been raised about Energiø Bornholm’s relevance and economy, but the project has never been more important. Besides being a crucial project in the European fight against climate change, the energy island has every opportunity to become a good business for Denmark.
Read full announcement (external link)
Originally published on 15 Jan
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