Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Another impediment to small-scale wind turbine installations is the lack of reliable wind
resource data. Furthermore, in many cases the timing of the available wind resource did not
match that of the electrical demand. Interested buyers often found their sites had poor winds
or were sheltered from high winds by buildings or trees. Even when the turbines operated
properly, their energy production was too low to be cost effective. These productivity prob-
lems were in fact not the fault of the turbines but of incorrect wind estimates or siting.
Danish Experience with Grid-Connected Distributed Turbines
The Danish wind industry, like its counterpart in the United States, was first developed
to serve a distributed market. Only years later did the industry begin to develop and sell
large-scale turbines for wind power stations. For a variety of cultural and economic reasons,
the Danes were very successful in serving this distributed market [Madsen 987]. By 993,
about 3,500 wind turbines were operating in Denmark, mostly in distributed applications
serving farms, homes, and small businesses. Although the total number of turbines in Den-
mark is only 22 percent, of those in California, the average number per unit of land area is
twice as much (one per 2 square kilometers (km
2
) in Denmark
vs.
one per 25 in California).
While California wind turbines are generally concentrated in power stations, wind turbines in
Denmark are generally dispersed, avoiding densely packed wind plants for aesthetic reasons.
The Danish Setting for Wind Energy
A nation of small cities, Denmark's population is distributed uniformly over the Jutland
peninsula and the major islands of Zealand, Fyn, and Lolland. The uniform terrain is charac-
terized by a flat, glaciated plain just above sea level with only a few hills and coastal dunes
rising above the plain. Numerous inlets pierce the plain, creating a greatly indented coastline.
There are 00 inhabited islands in Denmark. The indented coastline, the flat terrain, and the
dominance of agriculture facilitate the installation of distributed wind turbines. Numerous
bays and inlets provide an unobstructed fetch for winds sweeping across Denmark's open
water. The flat terrain and the dominance of agriculture, with its dispersed housing and open
fields, further contribute to a greater availability of good wind sites.
Like the Dutch to their southwest, the Danes have a long history of working with and
using the wind, so the use of wind turbines seems more commonplace to them and less of a
novelty. Another cultural characteristic in Denmark that is advantageous for the distributed-
turbine market is the frequent use of
cooperative ventures
. Two or more homeowners or
farmers will often buy a larger wind turbine together, taking advantage of the economy of
scale and sharing the costs and benefits from production. Although there are no estimates of
how many turbines have been installed in this way, cooperative ventures are significant not
only as a means for obtaining a larger single turbine, but also because they are the model for
acquiring multiple-unit installations.
There are many cases in Denmark where towns and villages have installed turbines to
offset electricity consumption at municipal facilities (
e.g.
, sport stadiums, ferry terminals,
and technical schools). About 50 percent of the projects using five or more turbines have
been sponsored by municipal governments.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search