Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 8
the Early Wind Industry
Erik Grove-Nielsen
Windsofchange.dk, Følvigvej 8, 7870 Roslev, Denmark
grove@windsofchange.dk
In 1895, Danish meteorologist, inventor and teacher Poul la Cour
worked hard to bring renewable energy sources in the form of
wind energy to practice in the dark rural areas of Denmark. His
principal aim was to bring prosperity to the people living in the
countryside. A few decades prior, thousands of wind-powered ships
took care of the transportation of goods between continents.
However, just a few years later the first aeroplane took of from
the ground and Henry Ford started serial production of fossil energy
motor cars, driven by the explosion motor. Oil together with coal
became the main source of energy, enabling mankind to transport
people and goods in growing numbers by cars, boats, trains and
planes. Fossil fuels became the main driver of American and
European societies, and only a few people questioned this deve-
lopment then. During World War II, when Denmark was occupied,
it became difficult to import fossil fuels. As electrical utilities
relied on domestic sources, engineer Johannes Juul, employed
Search WWH ::
Custom Search