Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
NIVE's “bible” on wind energy development (Maegaard, 2010).
Very little was published at the time on wind energy technology
and system design, but in his search Maegaard managed to find
a topic
Vindkraftboken on wind turbine design,
by Swedish engineer/
scientist Bengt Södergaard.
Back in Thisted, Maegaard made two early attempts during
1975-1976 to construct a turbine based largely on the Swedish
topic's design of a 2-bladed downwind machine with free yaw,
but he found it to be a “paper tiger” that would become so powerful
and unstable in high winds that he needed a tractor to yaw it out
of the wind so that the machine would stop. After one scary
experience with the machine, he decided to not have it run again.
Instead, a new turbine was made with three blades that had
sail wings upon the suggestion of another NIVE actor, Henrik
Stiesdal,
11
who would eventually become an important wind
technology engineer at Bonus and later at Siemens Corporation.
The importance of safety and reliability in the design was
impressed upon the NIVE team from these early experiences.
Experiments with wind energy technology at NIVE continued
and these early activities would provide the actor-network at
NIVE with the foundation for future work on wind energy
development. In late 1976, NIVE actor Bjørn Rossing, a relatively
wealthy man from Copenhagen who had decided to retire in
Western Jutland, had the idea of purchasing one of the new Riisager
turbines.
12
The carpenter Christian Riisager had recently become
successful selling a 22 kW wind turbine with wooden blades.
Unfortunately, his success meant that the demand for his turbines
quickly outpaced supply and the price tripled from its initial
costs. As a result, Rossing approached the NIVE group with the
idea that they could make such a turbine themselves and even
improve upon it. Two of the NIVE members, Ian Jordan and Preben
Maegaard, set forth on the task of designing the blades for the
turbine. This activity set in motion important developments for the
NIVE group that would play a significant role in the expansion of
the overall wind energy actor-network in Denmark. In addition,
the group also would rely on recent developments of a related
actor-network near Ulfborg, Denmark at the Tvind Schools.
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See chapter
From Herborg Blacksmith to Vestas
by
Henrik Stiesdal.
12
See chapter
From Energy Crisis to Industrial Adventure: A Chronicle
by Preben
Maegaard.
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