A different view

Denmark, a nation free from foreign oil

Some of our group members chartered this local sailboat to experience what it is like to sail among the wind turbines.Click image to enlarge.

Nuclear, No. Coal, No. Wind, Yes!

By Charles Kleekamp

I

t was as if we were in a mythical land. A place where every village is like a picture post card. Red tile or thatched roofs... a countryside lush with prosperous family farms. Windmills (wind turbines that is) alone or in small groups dot the farms with cattle and sheep grazing contentedly below. A land where all the local power lines are buried, electric trains run frequently and precisely on time. Journeying further, we discovered educated and prosperous people in a progressive society that takes care of its elders and there are no homeless to be seen.

This nation is not only self-sufficient in energy, but exports oil, natural gas, and electricity to other countries

And one other comment here on practical life... and perhaps most impressive, this nation is not only self-sufficient in energy, but exports oil, natural gas, and electricity to other countries. Not a fairy-tale land ... we were in modern Denmark!

Our Clean Power Now tour of Denmark in May was especially revealing of progress in this island nation’s wind industry. In a country of five million people about half the size of Maine they are currently producing 19% of their electrical energy from windi with a goal of 50% by 2030ii. In the depth of this last long winter, the high wind power production in January was a record 32% of the total domestic electric supplyiii.

Nysted Offshore Windfarm

Denmark now has about 4,700 land based turbinesiv and six operating offshore windfarmsv including the world’s two largest at Nysted and at Horns Rev. The bucolic south coast town of Nysted is the home of Denmark’s newest offshore wind farm located just 6 miles from their harbor. Consisting of 72 turbinesvi, it began operation in December, 2003.

Tourism has not been reduced, but “in fact it has increased...”

We were greeted by Mayor Damsbo-Andersen on our first day’s visit. He told us emphatically that “Denmark made a decision not to go nuclearvii [in 1985] and started making wind turbines.” He stated that there now seemed only one concern in his town – the flashing lights of the windfarm at night, a concern that is being addressed. “This is a technical problem and can be solved or at least minimized,” referring to dimming the lights in clear weather or even turning them off unless an aircraft is in the area. “There are no other problems!” he said definitively of their windfarm. In particular, “no environmental problems, no bird kill.”

And the mayor claims it has certainly not reduced tourism, “in fact it has increased...” referring with a smile, arms extended, to our group of 35. At the town’s insistence, he said the name of the wind farm was changed from Rødsand (a shallow sand reef where the turbines are located) to the “Nysted Wind Farm,” to make the project more recognizable and attract more international visitors. Of course, centered at the harbor is a new information center and exhibition called “The World of Wind,” built in partnership with the project developers with detailed interactive displays of their project.

The Wind Policy

It is a government policy in Denmark to specify the location of offshore wind farms with little public input, sometimes to the consternation of local residents. “We believe in wind power, but please put it somewhere else,” was an oft spoken refrain. With performance as a driver the sites are chosen in shallow water with outstanding wind criteria to assure financial viability. For example the Nysted site with an average wind velocity of 20 MPH resulted in a capacity factor (actual power produced divided by maximum capability) of an amazing 47%viii.

his is a view of the offshore windfarm from Nysted Cove . Just 6 miles offshore the wind turbines fade into the mist on horizon even on a clear day. Click the image to see in greater detail.

This can be compared to proposed sites closer to home. For example wind data collected on Nantucket Sound’s Horseshoe Shoal indicates a capacity factor of 42%ix. At Hull, a just-on-shore site exhibits 27% over three yearsx, and the Orleans land based site will yield an expected capacity factor of 24%xi. The capacity factor of a wind installation is perhaps the best single measure of the return on investment.

After they are built, resident fears are largely overcome and melt away with willing resignation. A sense of pride develops for clean, sustainable power with the wistful comment: “they’re just there...” Accepted as a part of nature, they peacefully coexist and fade into the horizon as ghostly figures in the usual ocean haze and mist.

Most locals pay little attention to the wind turbines now. In fact, some residents ask members of our travel group why we were visiting Denmark. When we responded that we were here to see the wind turbines, they were in utter disbelief saying “you have come all the way from America to just see wind turbines?” as in their opinion they are the most common objects of everyday life. Around 80% of the Danish population supports wind powerxii.

Success Builds

The two large offshore windfarms at Horns Rev and Nysted have been so successful, in spite of some technical problems at Horns Rev, that the Danish Energy Authority has offered tenders that will more than double their sizexiii. Each of these large wind farms will soon be expanded from 160 megawatts (MW) to 360 MW. Depending on the size of the units selected, these enlarged wind farms will each consist of about 140 turbines. Which incidentally are more turbines than in the proposed windfarm on Nantucket Sound.

The Danish government does not subsidize the cost of building these offshore projects. Consortiums of Danish power companies design, build, own and operate these profitable facilities. The total cost of the Nysted project was approximately $330 million dollars for the 166MW facilityxiv or $2,000 per kW installed. That’s about the same ratio for the proposed Nantucket Sound windfarm.

It is important to note that the Danish government does not subsidize the cost of building these offshore projects. Consortiums of Danish power companies design, build, own and operate these profitable facilities. The total cost of the Nysted project was approximately $330 million dollars for the 166MW facilityxiv or $2,000 per kW installed. That’s about the same ratio for the proposed Nantucket Sound windfarm. 

It must be recognized however, that the government does guarantee a 10 year fixed price to the owners for the electricity produced. Currently this is 7.2 cents per kilowatt hourxv. As a comparison, that’s virtually identical to the current 1 year guaranteed price of the generation charge (7.1 cents per kWh) for our residential electricity here from the Cape Light Compact or from NStar.

The Mandate:  Reject Nuclear Power 

Not only has Denmark rejected the nuclear option, but their Ministry of the Environment has banned the construction of new coal plants. Remaining coal plants will be converted to other fuels or decommissioned by 2030xvi. New renewable fuel power plants are being built that use sustainable fuels from their own agricultural industry like straw, wood pellets, and biogas from cow and pig manure where residuals are used for fertilizer.

Excess heat from power plants is distributed in hot water pipes to local homes and businesses rather than dump it into the ocean, a policy called “Combined Heat and Power (CHP)”.  Denmark has certainly progressed from the situation where imported cheap oil was fuelling 90% of the electricity production in the years before the oil crisis of 1974xvii.

Wind Easily Accommodated

Members of our group had the opportunity to have an in-depth conversation with Mr. Bjarne Hexgart, Operations Manager for ENERGI E2, one of the Nysted developersxviii. He said that the offset of conventional power plants has left sufficient power to fill the gaps when wind power is naturally diminished. However, there is always wind blowing somewhere in Denmark so it is not an all or nothing situation. No new peaking units have been built in Denmark to accommodate wind. Their grid power policy accepts all available wind power thereby displacing fossil fueled generators. This has enabled Denmark to more than meet the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol on carbon dioxide emissions.

The Vestas Story

With 40% of the world’s wind turbine manufacturing capability, Denmark dominates in design and production. In this maturing technology a consolidation of firms is occurring. Vestas, the largest (32%) has acquired smaller firms, most recently NEG Micon.

During our visit to the Vestas plant in Videbaek, our host, Mr. Lars Bo Nielsen, was forthcoming allowing us into the nacelle production plant and also in the highly proprietary blade (or sail) manufacturing area. The huge factory reminded me of an assembly area in a Boeing aircraft plant. The nacelles start with a sturdy aluminum frame, and as they progress down the line the huge transmission is added, then the generator (from France), transformers (Siemens), all other auxiliary components and finally the outer skin. Vestas employs about 10,000 highly skilled workers.

The turbines we viewed on the production floor are the latest 3 MW units, 60 of which are going to two offshore wind farms under construction in Great Britain; Barrow and Kentish Flats.

Mr. Nielsen was candid in explaining the detail problems encountered with the turbines on Horns Rev. Brought back to the factory on a rotating basis for refit with new transformers and gearbox seals, they were all returned to service as of December, 2004. In fact, 60 versions of that improved model, the 2MW V80, have been built, shipped, and installed in two operational offshore wind farms in Great Britain at North Hoyle and Scroby Sands.

Sustainability

Denmark is a national model of efficiency and sustainability without importing fossil fuels. They became self-sufficient in energy in 1997, for the first time in recent historyxix. In fact they now export 50% of their oil, 30% natural gas, and 19% of their electricityxx with a positive balance of payments of some 2.3 billion dollars a yearxxi. With domestic energy consumption decreasing and more reliance on wind power their CO2 emissions have fallen by 15% since 1990xxii.

Here on Cape Cod, some quibble about the sight of half-inch high toothpicks on the horizon harvesting wind that is free and forever. We should learn from the Danes.

Of course, Denmark and most European countries have a different culture imbued with a sense of responsibility for a sustainable future. Gasoline costs $6 a gallon and electricity is about double our price which in itself encourages efficiency. Their policy of high consumer energy prices certainly curtails squandering their oil and gas reserves from the North Sea which are estimated to run out in less than 20 years. In spite of such high fuel costs the residents we spoke to voiced concern about global climate change and the need to cut back carbon dioxide emissions. They are largely successful with their renewable energy policies.

To the contrary, our government refuses to recognize the impact of man-induced carbon emissions and retrogressively fosters more growth from ever dwindling reserves of oil and natural gas. Here on Cape Cod, some quibble about the sight of half-inch high toothpicks on the horizon harvesting wind that is free and forever. We should learn from the Danes.

C. W. Kleekamp, P.E. Ret. Information Director, Clean Power Now. Clean Power Now is a non-profit, volunteer organization that informs and empowers citizens to support viable renewable energy projects and policies and to secure their local and regional benefits.