Two climbers hang high above. Viewed from the ground they resemble tiny spiders clinging to the skeleton of what was once a giant grain storage silo on the dockside of Copenhagen’s northern inner harbour. In the heat of a summer day the unmistakable thud, thud of demolition in progress floats on the air. Two more climbers assist, swinging high from a crane derrick in the gentle breeze. The silo is being replaced by a residential complex, part of the EnergyLab Nordhavn project to develop energy systems for future cities. The new complex will house a giant battery for sopping up excess electricity on windy days during times of low consumer demand and high power production.

PHOTO Lars Just

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Dawn was breaking as the enormous cloud rolled in over Copenhagen, lit from above
by the cold light of a dying moon and from below by the sun’s first golden rays. Minutes later the scene was transformed into a dull grey day in the city as the first heavy raindrops fell. The frequency of cloudbursts in Denmark has grown steadily since records began in 1874.
A bad one in 2011 landed insurance companies with a $650 million bill for property damage. Copenhagen’s Cloudburst Management Plan includes 300 climate adaption projects over the next 20 years.

PHOTO Lars Just

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The surface is broken by a boy’s back as he emerges, dripping, into the baking sun. Out on the water a handful of kayaks do battle, while in the kids’ pool Frederik Koustrup shouts in delight as his friend Kalle lifts a new handful of trailing seaweed high into the air. Lifeguard and mother smile to one another. The pleasure is palpable at the seawater bathing facility in Copenhagen’s inner harbour on this hot Saturday afternoon. Thanks to a comprehensive modernisation of the city’s entire sewerage system, Copenhagen is the first capital city anywhere with water so clean that its former industrial docks host a recreational area for summer sea sports.

PHOTO Lars Just

Spreading their wings
With rotors spanning 164 metres, the world’s largest wind turbines today have rated capacities of 8 MW each and produce enough energy
to power 9000 homes. Here outside the Port of Esbjerg in the far west of Denmark, the 200 metre towers of two 8 MW prototype machines cast long wind turbine shadows.