Denmark: Pioneers in wind energy
Denmark’s countryside is riddled with windmills generating electricity for farmers and communities. The quiet rotating blades have become almost like a national symbol to Denmark. And with good reason.
Horns Rev wind farm, the first large scale offshore wind farm in the world. In Denmark there are over 5000 windmills generating enough electricity for 1,7 million households (Photo: Vattenfall)
About 20 % of the Dane’s electricity needs are covered by wind energy, the highest percentage in the world, and nearly half of all wind turbines in the world are made by Danish companies such as Vestas. On an area about twice the size of Massachusetts, there were by the end of 2009 more than 5.000 windmills generating enough electricity for 1,7 million households. Today’s Denmark is a modern and responsible economy, conscious of the challenges posed by climate change, and with ambitious goals concerning energy efficiency and the use renewable energy. What has turned Denmark into a leading wind energy producer is however not pure idealism. The first electricity generating windmills in Denmark were constructed well over a hundred years ago, long before words like global warming and climate change had become part of the global vernacular.
The pioneers
In the south of Denmark, in the tiny town of Askov, lays the cradle of Denmark’s wind energy industry. It was here the inventor, scientist and educationalist Poul La Cour in the 1890’s began looking into how wind turbines could generate electricity. As a teacher at Askov College he received grants to develop and build experimental windmills, and even a wind tunnel. La Cour’s motives behind developing a clean energy source were not that different from today’s, though energy efficiency and emission cuts were not what he had in mind. He had however noticed how the steam engine and electricity had started an industrialization, which drew many young people away from the countryside and into the towns.
Since the eighties wind power capacity has seen a steady growth (Image: Danish Energy Agency)
The rapid urbanization lead to deplorable conditions in the cities around the turn of the century. Could he do something to make country life easier and stop people from fleeing the countryside? He figured electricity was the key, but as power plants were only built to serve the cities he needed to find a way to generate electricity locally. The wind powered a dynamo to generate electricity. This electricity was to be led into a tank of water, which it would then separate into hydrogen and oxygen. Each of these gases was to be stored in a separate gas tank, from where the two gases were led in separate lead pipes from the mill to the college lamps. To educate the rural population he established the Society of Wind Electricians. As a result of La Cour’s work small electric plants began to appear in villages, on farms and dairies.
Learning a lesson
After a while the windmills met competition from the coal fired power plants and the national high voltage grid, and many predicted the disappearance of the windmill. The following two world wars however spurred further development of the technology, due to the shortages in coal and oil. And in 1957 former student of Poul Lacour, Johannes Juul, unveiled a new kind of turbine, which was to become the blueprint of for the turbines of today: Tall, three bladed and efficient. When the oil crisis hit in 1973, 90 % of Denmark’s energy came from mostly imported petroleum. Yet again windmills gained interest, but this time the interest did not wane. Denmark had learnt its lesson and decided to work towards greater energy efficiency and a more diversified energy supply.
Over the years Denmark has diversified their energy mix (Image: Danish Energy Agency)
Further reading
- Learn more about the history of wind power in Denmark on windsofchange.dk .
- Download the booklet Wind Turbines in Denmark, a general introduction intended to answer and elaborate on questions that are frequently asked about wind turbines.
- Learn about Danish energy policy.
