EnergyBiz - January/February 2008 - (Page 22) fields. “Diameter is the most important factor,” the bearded scientist said. “It takes energy out of the air as it rotates.” You are told the story by earnest, idealistic officials like Michel Schilling, who explained how and why the Danes intend to create a generating system that uses wind turbines to generate half of the country’s electricity. “We in Denmark have shown that wind energy can be part of a modern, highly industrialized society – that it can meet the demands for electricity,” said Schilling, who is in charge of the government’s wind initiatives. Denmark, with a population about equal to Wisconsin’s, has emerged a global superpower in wind energy, led by homegrown companies like Vestas and LM Glasfiber. Vestas started out more than a century ago as a farm implement manufacturer. LM made furniture. Now Vestas has a commanding market share of worldwide wind turbine production and LM is a world leader in manufacturing wind blades. Both operate sprawling facilities not far apart in western Denmark. Today, 21,000 Danes work in the wind industry, giving it proportionally about as significant a role in Denmark’s thriving, near full-employment economy as the troubled automobile sector plays in the United States. To gain a deeper understanding of Denmark’s wind power successes and their possible implications for the United States, EnergyBiz recently spent a week in the country meeting with government officials, business executives and scientists and touring wind installations, factories and research facilities. Denmark has been developing wind generation ever since the oil price rise shocks of three decades ago. Even though modest amounts of oil were Denmark Facts found near its shores, Denmark continued Since Early 1980s to work on wind power. Drive Denmark’s back roads and you will see wind turbines GROSS DOMESTIC planted on many hilltops and in valleys that PRODUCT look cutting edge to an untrained eye. Wind turbine experts, however, refer to these older up 56% units as museum pieces. The country is eager to continue to ramp up its wind technology. Some credit northern Europe’s culture CARBON DIOXIDE of frugality and a strong commitment to EMISSIONS the environment. Others cite a Nordic ethic. Government has a role to play in down 33% directing society. Citizens have a responsibility to shoulder the taxes and support the subsidies that make it possible to pursue renewable technologies while they are in their in early, startup phases. Carol Gold, a historian at the University of Alaska who has studied and lived in Denmark, said the country has benefited from “a sense that the government is more ‘us’ than ‘them.’” Couple that with a sense of pride shared by many Europeans, “a sense of ‘we can show the Americans how to do it,’” Gold said. Then you will better understand the continent’s current passion about renewables. The argument against massive wind power development in the United States has centered on the intermittency of the resource. Wind power generation works at maximum efficiency about one-third of the time. Thus, a heavy reliance on wind would necessitate development of other generation that could be tapped when wind is not available. Danish energy planners neatly sidestep that issue because their nation has major transmission line connections to Sweden and Norway, where hydroelectric power resources are about triple Denmark’s The 20-turbine Middelgrunden wind farm, installed in 2000, produces 90 megawatt-hours of electricity a year. phOTO By BEnJaMin k sOvacOOL annual electricity consumption, and to Germany, which has diverse generation resources. In the United States, the most abundant wind resources are in the middle of the country relatively far from coastal population centers. A major reliance on wind generation would require a significant investment in upgrading the power grid. Denmark declared a year ago that it intends to double its wind generation capacity to 6,000 megawatts. The United States has 15,000 megawatts of wind power installed meeting almost 1 percent of national electricity demand. The Danes intend to deploy 500 to 1,000 offshore wind turbines to generate enough electricity to meet its residential customers’ needs. 22 E n E rgyB i z January/February 2008
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