Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
7.10.2
Knowledge for All
On 30 September 1978, the Danish Organisation for Renewable
Energy (OVE), of which I was president, held its fifth wind get-
together/workshop (VindTræf ) since 1976. The big auditorium of
Brandbjerg Folk High School was almost full. The most important
topics were the report from the committee for windmill security
and the presentation of Risø's test station for smaller windmills,
introduced by its newly elected leader, Helge Petersen.
However, the most important challenge of the workshop was
to discuss the large-scale implementation of the new generation
of small windmills and provide them with a stamp of approval. As
chairman of the meeting, it became my task to unite the widely
diverging ideas. This was rather decisive because at this workshop
we had stepped far outside the inner circle of the energy activists.
Professional associations, trade promotion officers, manu-
facturers, consumers' organisations, politicians and researchers
as well as energy secretariats, consumers' foundations and associ-
ations and people who were building their own windmills, were
among the participants. It is beyond doubt that this get-together
was epoch-making for the wind power. For me it was especially
relevant. I got in contact with blacksmiths Frits Sørensen and Jens
Jensen, president and board member of the Danish Blacksmiths'
Association (Dansk Smedemesterforening), later DS Trade &
Industry, representing 2 200 SMEs, among those, by the way, also
Vestas.
Two blacksmith leaders participated in the meeting to get
inspiration and establish contacts to enable their members to
manufacture wind turbines in the many small enterprises. The
investment boom in the agricultural sector after the EC membership
had brought good jobs for numerous blacksmiths, but later it died
down and they now wanted a role in the new renewable energy
industry.
During the industrialisation, the blacksmiths had already
built up a fund of experience in making successful design manuals
with standard constructions at the disposal for their member
enterprises. Since around 1960, blacksmiths all over the country
could manufacture state-of-the-art agricultural transport vehicles
using the manual, which for instance Vestas did, grew by it and
eventually designed their own agricultural machinery. Since 1978,
drawings of steel beams for farm buildings became an important
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