Samso, the Danish island living off-grid

In the past 10 years, the Danish island of Samso has cut its carbon footprint by a staggering 140%. With a grid of windfarms, solar panels and sheep, it is selling power to the mainland.

Solar, biomass, wind and wood-chip power generators have sprouted up across the island, while traditional fossil-fuel plants have been closed and dismantled.

Ten years ago, islanders drew nearly all their energy from oil and petrol brought in by tankers and from coal-powered electricity transmitted to the island through a mainland cable link. Today that traffic in energy has been reversed. Samsingers now export millions of kilowatt hours of electricity from renewable energy sources to the rest of Denmark.

Link