Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3.14
The Birth of the “Danish Concept”:
1978-1979
Since 1974, a group of engineers, blacksmiths, technical school
teachers and others in northwestern Jutland—including the
founder of the Folkecenter for Renewable Energy a few years later,
Preben Maegaard—had studied and worked on diferent kinds of
renewable energy. In 1977, this group (NIVE) designed a 22 kW
wind turbine, which was to be produced locally.
5
It was a 3-bladed
upwind turbine with an asynchronous generator, an industrial
gear, electrical yawing and locally developed control system [14].
Maegaard asked Erik Grove-Nielsen to develop a new 5 m blade,
and ordered 15 blades still before it was even designed and tested.
During the process, an important choice was made. All traditional
Danish windmill turned counter-clockwise (seen from the wind
side) and it was also the case for the Riisager turbines and Tvind's
PTG turbine. But Grove-Nielsen designed the new blades for
clockwise rotation. After that, it became the “normal” direction
for wind turbines, both in Denmark and abroad. The first set of
Økær blades for the NIVE turbine was delivered in June 1978.
At the same time near the small town Vildbjerg in the Middle
Jutland a young student had got his first experience with wind
power. After finishing high school in 1976, Henrik Stiesdal made
experiments at his home farm near Vildbjerg between Herning
and Holstebro in western Jutland.
6
He placed his first 2-bladed
sail-wing turbine at an agricultural trailer and towed it to a place
on the fields, where the wind was the strongest. Together with
his father he also visited Tvind several times and they decided to
build a 15 kW sail-wing turbine to produce electricity for the farm.
In February 1978, he got assistance with production of some
parts for this turbine by the blacksmith Karl-Erik Jørgensen, who
had a small mechanical workshop in nearby Herborg. Jørgensen
was at that time working on his own small wind turbine, and it
became the start of a close cooperation during the next couple
of years. Jørgensen's practical skills, extreme willpower and
determination along with Stiesdal's theoretical knowledge showed
5
See chapter
From Energy Crisis to Industrial Adventure—A Chronicle
by Preben
Maegaard.
6
See chapter
From Herborg Blacksmith to Vestas
by
Henrik Stiesdal.
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