Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
In contrast to the various organisations mentioned above, the
material agents within these actor-networks could also be seen as
frames of reference for analysis of the developing actor-networks.
Beginning with the Gedser turbine of the 1950s, the “Danish
Concept” for wind energy technology began to take shape. The
well-documented success of this turbine was a prime motivator for
the designs of the late 1970s when more detailed information
was not available. It influenced directly the development of the
Riisager, Tvind and NIVE turbine designs which then inspired
the development of a relatively standard design across the entire
Danish wind industry. The “Danish Concept” performance in terms
of reliability even in the harsher environments imposed by the
California wind plants ensured the continued success and growth
of the overall Danish wind energy industry. The performance of
the turbine in the face of uncertainty is in essence its “agency”
exerted on the network. While Juul himself designed the turbine
with principles of reliability in mind, the uncertainty of the physics
influenced the overall process and were beyond the control, indeed
the comprehension, of the actors involved in the development of
the “Danish Concept”. Even today, the uncertainty surrounding
wind turbine and plant performance is substantial and surfaces
in unexpected failures, lower realised levels of energy production,
and more frequent need for turbine repairs.
Thus the perceived success of the Danish wind energy
actor-network is dependent on many smaller actor-networks
containing the technology itself and many organisations from OVE
to NIVE and even to Risø. This history provided an introduction
into many of the complex and interwoven relationships of the
Danish wind energy actor-network which itself is part of a global
actor-network for wind energy. Even so, there is much more
detail involved in just the Danish story than this work can
highlight. In deconstructing a history of technology, the
complexity quickly compounds. This work hopefully brought forth,
if nothing else, an appreciation for that complexity and the notion
that to tell a relatively complete history of one single technology,
such as a wind turbine, will involve many actors, networks and
networks of networks in order to provide an adequate depiction
of that history.
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