Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Denmark
Although Denmark did not have a comprehensive law equivalent to PURPA to encour-
age competitive sources of electric power, individuals are permitted to connect wind turbines
to the utility grid and sell their excess electricity to the utility at 80 percent of retail prices.
Alternatively, they could use this excess generation to offset their consumption, whether or
not the wind turbines are installed at the owner's residence or business. Flexible tax incen-
tives and utility power purchase provisions, among other factors, encouraged the growth of
a powerful wind turbine manufacturing industry in Denmark. Total production reached over
200 MW per year, more than three-fourths of which went to California during 984 and 985.
The Danish industry has the largest market share for dispersed wind turbine applications in
the world.
In the early 980s the Danish kroner was low in relation to the United States dollar,
which provided a competitive advantage for sales in the United States. In addition the Dan-
ish government waived
Value Added Tax
(VAT) on products exported outside the European
Union. But the Danes were not immune to the reduced world market for wind turbines. The
expiration of the U.S. tax credits made wind power stations in this country more expensive
to potential investors, and developers needed significant cost reductions to make new proj-
ects economically viable. Concurrently, the Danish kroner rose in value almost 40 percent
against the dollar in the mid-980s, making Danish exports more expensive. By 987 only
a few Danish manufacturers had escaped hardship or bankruptcy. Nevertheless, Denmark is
still the world's leading producer of commercial wind turbines.
Germany
As listed in Table 4-0, Germany has more wind energy installed capacity than any
other European Country or the United States, although U.S. wind power stations produced
more energy by mid-2008. Usable wind resources in Germany are located primarily in the
lowlands near the Baltic and North Sea, where more than 33 percent of electricity came from
wind in 2006. Wind plants in Germany have the benefit of energy feed laws that provide lu-
crative, transparent, easily understood long-term tariffs for wind. As an example, Germany's
Renewable Energy Sources Law
required grid operators to pay 0.089 Euros/kWh for 5 years
beginning in 2007. This law requires the subsequent starting tariff be reduced by 2 percent
yearly. However, offshore wind power installations are allowed higher tariffs and have the
additional incentive requiring grid operators to pay the underwater line connection costs. The
goal of these additional incentives is expansion in offshore wind power stations in German
seas of ,500 MW by 20 and up to 25,000 MW by 2030.
Other European Countries
Businesses in European countries were initially slower to exploit the market for com-
mercial wind turbines, but growing concerns about future energy supplies caused virtually
every country in the European Union to begin investing in wind power. France was slow
in joining this trend. Several initiatives were started there but stalled due to the dominant
nuclear industry. However, by mid-2008 France had installed 2,454 MW of wind power,
more than the United Kingdom that has vastly better wind resources.
Wind energy research activities in most European countries began in earnest by the early
980s and accelerated after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 986. By then, 9 countries
and territories had installed medium-scale wind turbines. The Netherlands, Greece, Spain,
Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Portugal all have active
research and development programs aimed at eventual commercial applications.
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