Environmental Engineering Reference
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electricity demand in 1918. Even today, only few nations have
exceeded this coverage by wind.
During the following four decades, wind turbines were further
developed and tested in Denmark and elsewhere, especially in
Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. In Denmark
this period culminated with the 20 kW Gedser windmill, in
operation from 1959 to 1967 (more details in the chapter by
Benny Christensen). The operation was successful, but in the
1960s oil and coal was becoming so cheap that wind power could
not compete and most electric utilities in industrial countries forgot
about wind power. Luckily, Danish wind power enthusiasts did
not forget about the technological turbine solution promoted
by the Gedser windmill and characterised by three blades on a
horizontal axis in an upwind position (Fig. 6.1). The Gedser
windmill became the mother of modern Danish wind turbines in
the 1970s after the global oil crisis.
Figure 6.1
The 200 kW Gedser windmill.
The early innovators combined the courage of economic risk-
taking (of their own private money) with a characteristic Danish
feature of common sense based on a principle of precaution, which
may be expressed as follows:
When you have found a reliable and
efficient turbine technology, stick to it and start with modest-sized
structures that you can manage. Go on from there and increase
gradually the turbine capacity.
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