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In-Depth Information
ofshore developments). After an additional 178 MW was installed in 2011,
increasing total installed capacity to 3871 MW, wind power was supplying
28% of Danish electricity consumption.
In the remainder of this chapter, we will employ the
Political SET
frame-
work to examine the main elements that have catalyzed support for wind
power in Denmark. Section 4 will examine the sociocultural, economic, and
technological conditions that have provided a positive national landscape
for supporting Denmark's wind power boom. In section 5, the governance
conduits—the inluence of sociocultural, technological, and economic
forces on political behavior—will be highlighted in order to demonstrate
how political behavior was inluenced by SET forces. In section 6, key
regime characteristics of the Danish system of governance will be exam-
ined in order to understand the political forces that inluenced wind power
difusion. Section 7 reviews how the STEP forces conlated to enable the
success Denmark has enjoyed in wind power difusion. he chapter will
conclude with a discussion of what might be in store for wind power devel-
opers in Denmark in the near future.
4.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE
4.4.1 Sociocultural Landscape
As outlined earlier in the chapter, wind power development in Denmark was
prominent during both world wars. Consequently, for many older members
of Denmark's farming communities, the presence of wind turbines was by
no means unnatural. As wind power began to expand in the 1980s, histori-
cal ainity helped to reduce resistance to a technology that could be aes-
thetically invasive.
Another key sociocultural element that engendered public support for
wind power stems from the fact that Denmark is a sparsely populated, agri-
culturally vibrant country. One reason for Denmark's thriving agricultural
sector is that Danish farmers have a history of cooperating to innovate and
improve agricultural returns. In the early 1980s, the prospect of enhancing
proitability by investing in wind power projects hosted on agricultural land
enticed a number of cooperatives to get involved. hanks to high levels of
community investor participation in wind power projects, public opinion
toward wind power remained positive throughout the irst two decades of
growth—surveys conducted in the 1990s indicated that approximately 80%
of the Danish population supported wind power. By 2000, approximately
150,000 Danish households were registered investors in wind power proj-
ects. As an expert on wind power development in Denmark summarized, “it
