Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
he 1979 energy crisis that emerged as a consequence of the Iran
Revolution consolidated political will to proactively drive wind power
development.
24
hat year, a Danish Ministry of Energy was established in
order to proactively direct national energy strategy,
25
and two subsidies
were introduced that would alter the course of wind power development
in Denmark. he irst subsidy allowed investors in wind turbines to claim
up to 30% of total investment costs (including installation and connection
costs);
26
however, only turbines approved by the Risø Laboratories were eli-
gible. Once wind turbines were operational, a second subsidy permitted a
tax-deduction on the sale of surplus wind power to the grid. Moreover, utili-
ties were required to purchase all such surplus.
27
here was a special stipulation attached to the 1979 policy initiatives that
would prove to be instrumental in facilitating public support for wind power
development. Only individuals (or cooperative groups of individuals) living
within 3 km of a given project were eligible for the investment subsidy.
28
his condition ensured that project investors and host communities were
often one and the same, signiicantly mitigating community opposition
to these new projects. However, uncertainty over revenue lows prevented
broader scale investment and, as Figure 4.4 illustrates, it wasn't until the
mid-1980s that wind power really took of.
In hindsight, the wind power subsidy programs launched in 1979 can be
considered to be policy reconnaissance that provided the feedback neces-
sary for formulating a bolder set of policy initiatives in 1985. While the gov-
ernment was monitoring the impact of its investment subsidy program on
wind power adoption, it was also conducting a national study to assess the
feasibility and potential of large-scale wind power difusion. Based on an
assumption that the average wind turbine in the near future would possess
a rated capacity of 2.5 MW, the study concluded that the potential for wind
Wind Power Contribution to Denmark's Electricity Supply (%)
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
Figure 4.4
. he Rise of Wind Power
Source
: Danish Energy Agency. 2011.
Annual Energy Statistics 2010
. Copenhagen: Danish Energy Agency.
