Økær Vind Energi: Standard Blades for the Early Wind Industry - Wind Power for the World: The Rise of Modern Wind Energy - page 264

turbines erected in the Californian Wind Rush 1982-1986,
some 1 045 turbines flying AeroStar blades were still producing
electricity 25 years later, and many are still running.
The AeroStar blades were produced by three factories
in Denmark and two new factories built in the United States
between 1981 and 1986. AeroStar shared my vision of producing
a standard blade that everyone could buy. No exclusive deals
were done. That way they paved the way for new turbine designs
and manufacturers worldwide. AeroStar blades were sold to 26
countries around the Globe. Mrs Anne-Marie Lundsberg was a
tough frontrunner for this international sales work, as she tirelessly
travelled the world andcreated an impressive international

network for AeroStar.

8.7 The Danish Concept

The turbines from Vestas, Nordtank, Bonus, Micon, Danwin,
DWT and Wind Matic exported to the United States in big numbers
during the Californian Wind Rush, were all based on the same
concept. Three-bladed stall controlled turbines with the rotor on
the upwind side. This rugged and simple design was later named
“The Danish Concept”. The initial design was made by Johannes
Juul in the years 1948 to 1957, and showed its qualities at the
Gedser turbine, and now 15 years later in the Californian desert,
where visionary American politicians paved the way for the
world's first wind farms. We must be thankful to the Americans for
welcoming wind turbine technology and companies from another
continent. Many companies and designs matured in this period.
In 1986, the Californian Wind Rush came to an abrupt end
when tax credits in California and nationwide in the United States
expired. Vestas, Nordtank, Micon and AeroStar went bankrupt.
Before 1982, LM Glasfiber did not market its own blade design,
but manufactured blades that were designed by Riisager and later
Wind Matic. From 1982, it developed its own blades, and in 1987
it expanded its business substantially with sales to the major
players Bonus and the reconstructed Nordtank as well as German
Enercon.
During the good years with the AeroStar cooperation, I
built up a test centre for wind turbine blades at Sparkær. After the