Denmark's Dong Energy to phase out coal burning by 2023

Denmark's largest energy producer Dong Energy announced on Thursday that it has set a new target to become coal free by 2023.

In its 2016 financial report, the Danish energy company said its green transformation will continue with the construction of new offshore wind farms and the conversion of power stations to sustainable biomass.

Henrik Poulsen, CEO of Dong Energy, said the decision was in line with the company's vision to lead the transformation to a sustainable energy system and create a leading green energy company.

"The future belongs to renewable energy," Poulsen was quoted by Danish newspaper The Copenhagen Post as saying. "We are converting the last of our coal-fired plants to sustainable biomass."

According to the report, all of the company's power plants will be burning wood chips or pellets once the changeover is completed at its last two coal-fired power plants.

Last October, Dong Energy announced its withdrawal from oil and gas as fuels for electricity generation.

Headquartered in Fredericia, Denmark, Dong Energy is one of Northern Europe's leading energy groups with around 6,200 employees.

According to its annual report, the company registered a net profit of 12.2 billion kroner (1.77 billion U.S. dollars) from its continuing operations for 2016 as against 1.0 billion kroner in the previous year.

The company attributed the increase primarily to higher EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) and a gain from the divestment of the gas distribution network. Endit