Dong Energy became Europe's biggest initial public offering (IPO) this year, soaring as much as 12 per cent after trading commenced yesterday, after investors lined up to own shares in the Danish utility.

The world's biggest offshore wind-park operator – it has built more than a quarter of the world's offshore wind farms – sold 17.4 per cent of its shares at 235 kroner a piece, raising 17.1 billion kroner. The price gives the whole company a value of 98.2 billion kroner.

Shares traded almost 12 per cent higher at 262.8 kroner in the Danish capital before coming back as the session wound down to close on 258 kroner, a gain of just under 10 per cent.

Analysts said the strong debut showed investors were growing in confidence about the future for renewable energy as technologies improve and governments commit to curbing carbon emissions.

"It is our clear impression the green transition has a pretty strong momentum," said Dong chief executive Henrik Poulsen.

"Our vision is that green energy will be cheaper than conventional energy. It can happen within a decade."

"There has been a lot of interest in becoming part of the ownership of Dong Energy, both among retail and professional investors," Claus Hjort Frederiksen, Denmark's finance minister, said in a statement.

“It gives Dong Energy a solid foundation to retain and develop its position as one of the leading green energy companies in the world.”

The Danish state will remain Dong’s biggest owner, with just over 50 per cent of the shares, followed by Goldman Sachs.

New Energy Investment Sarl, a Luxembourg-based vehicle through which Goldman owns its Dong stake, holds 13.4 per cent of the company after the IPO.

The IPO puts an end to years of hand-wringing, with successive governments since 2004 planning and then pulling a sale of Dong as markets shifted. – Bloomberg/Reuters