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Figure 18.5
An early WKZ 12 kW Elektromat located near Bad Oyenhausen,
Germany, 2003. The design was taken over from Danish S. J.
Windpower who went bankrupt in 1980 (left); A WKZ 25 kW
Elektromat unit near Büsum, northern Germany, 2000. Note
the tail-vane and yellow tips. The blades were manufactured
by Danish Alternegy (right) (Photo: Arne Jaeger).
18.2.2
German Pioneers
This chapter deals with pioneer companies in Germany of which
most came up in the 1980s. For many the 1973 oil crisis and a
greater independence of conventional energy sources were the
main motivation to found a company selling wind turbines. For
already existing firms diversification was the decisive reason to
seek for new industries. When wind energy slowly started to rise
in the second half of the 1980s some companies realised the big
opportunity that was on the horizon. Parallel small wind turbines
became more and more popular since the large-scale machines
proved wrong.
Brümmer: 1974-2000s
Herman Brümmer can truly be called a “real pioneer”. In 1961,
Brümmer started repairing small wind turbines in the neighbour-
hood. Soon he developed his own wind turbine concept that
featured very simple, three-bladed downwind machine, yawing
passively. Rated powers varied between few kilowatts and 15 kW.
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s Brümmer sold some
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