Energy group Orsted shuts down its last coal-fired plant
COPENHAGEN, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Denmark's Orsted will shut down its last coal-fired power units this week, it said on Thursday, marking a milestone in its transition to fossil-free energy generation.
The company, formerly known as DONG Energy, has pioneered offshore wind energy and rebranded itself as a "renewable major" since selling its oil and gas business in 2017.
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Orsted said it will shut its coal-fired power plant in Esbjerg and another coal-fired unit at its Studstrup plant on Saturday, which it said was the last major step to meeting its target of a 99% green share of energy generation by 2025.
"With the close down of the heat and power plant, we're well on track to becoming the first major energy company to completely transform its energy production from fossil fuels to renewable energy," Orsted's head of bioenergy Ole Thomsen said in a statement.
Once one of Europe's most coal-dependent energy companies, 85% of the company's heat and power production in 2008 was based on fossil fuels.
Orsted had earlier planned to eliminate coal burning entirely by March 2023, but the state-controlled company was ordered by the Danish government to continue operations at the Esbjerg plant and other units during the energy crisis that followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The government order expires on Saturday.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Jan Harvey)