Copenhagen: Cities can run on wind energy 
    




    







    
    
    
    














  
  
  
        
    
Published on Sustainable Cities (http://sustainablecities.dk)

    

    

    

    
    

    
20-08-2008

    			

								
Copenhagen: Cities can run on wind energy 

				
The Danish Government is aiming to turn 50% of Danish electricity consumption into offshore wind power by 2030. In 2000, the city of Copenhagen took part in a large offshore wind farm project called Middelgrunden two kilometres off the city's coastline. The project was to produce energy for the city. Although wind power produced locally in Copenhagen is for national consumption this case shows that cities can be visionary and produce energy themselves.

				

			


    
In 2000, the city of Copenhagen took part in a large offshore wind farm project two kilometres off the city's coastline. The project is based on a partnership between the municipality and local shareholders.
Wind energy is not the energy source that immediately springs to mind when thinking about renewable energy in cities. Few cities have enough space within their area to build large wind farms. It is more common to find small wind turbines on suitable locations or even on buildings.
The wind farm ‘Middelgrunden’ consists of a slightly curved line of 20 turbines, each with a rotor diameter of 76 m and a generator size of 2 MW. Wind turbines are expensive to build, whereas the operating costs are low. Denmark tops world consumption of wind power with 22 per cent of its total electrical consumption produced in wind turbines in June 2005. This compares to a mere 6 per cent in neighbouring Germany and 0.5 per cent globally. Middelgrunden does not produce electricity specifically for Copenhagen. The wind power production bought by energy company Dong Energy and sold to national as well as international customers.  
Windmills at Middelgrunden, Copenhagen, 5 Aug 2007, By Andjohan, Flickr, Creative Commons
Denmark was a pioneer in developing commercial wind power during the 1970s. Today almost half of the wind turbines placed around the world are produced by Danish manufacturers, such as Vestas Wind Systems A/S. The Danish government in the 1980s and 1990s was supporting wind energy development. This resulted in a dramatic reduction in the cost of wind-generated electricity. To promote investments in wind power families were offered tax deductions if generating their own energy within their own or the neighbouring municipality. This incentive resulted in the creation of numerous vind power cooperatives. In 2001, more than 100.000 Danish families were members of a vind power cooperative.
 
Middelgrunden Vindmøllelaug is the largest of its kind in the world with 8.600 owners. Middelgrunden wind power park is 50 % financed by 10.000 stockholders in Middelgrunden Vindmøllelaug and 50 % financed by the municipal energy supplier in Copenhagen, Copenhagen Energy.
“Public resistance against wind turbines in the landscape is and has been one of the largest barriers to the development of wind power – and thus to the development of an environment friendly and sustainable energy supply. This counts both for Denmark and other countries. At the moment, there is though a wide support for wind energy in Denmark” Middelgrunden projektinformation

    
Key Learning Points
Financing a wind farm can be done through private-public partnership
 It is important to ensure ownership to the wind farm among politicians, municipal authorities, energy companies, NGO’s and citizens, in order to secure success
 
How to
People – potential shareholders, neighbours, interest groups, politicians etc. – must be involved in the relevant parts of the project during the entire process
Problems with acceptance can be helped, if interest groups and authorities are contacted at an early stage
It is essential to disseminate the appropriate information at the right time. Many initial reservations towards the Middelgrunden project were based on fear of the negative impact. Careful information distribution and dialogue assured that the reservations did not develop into serious problems for the project. E.g. the neighbours were invited on a tour to visit a modern wind turbine, which convinced them that noise would not be a problem
Relevant and critical reactions should be taken seriously and it is necessary to adapt the project in order to meet concerns. In the Middelgrunden project, the design of the wind farm was changed. It cost an extra year of planning, but broad local support was accomplished in the end
The Environmental Impact Assessment (VVM) should be taken very seriously, and responses at the hearing have to be taken into account
Large projects need a minimum amount of start up capital – or require a large amount of voluntary work
City Facts
Country: Denmark
City: Copenhagen
Area: 88.25 km2 (city)
Population: 530, 902 (city, 2010)
Population density: 6,015.9/km2
GDP per capita (country): USD 36,000 (2009 est.)
Source: Wikipedia, CIA World Factbook
Project Facts
Wind power in Denmark provided 19,7 % of the nation's electricity in 2007, a significantly higher proportion than in any other country. This compares to a mere 6 percent in neighbouring Germany and 0.5 percent globally. 
Percent renewable energy in electricity Consumption in Denmark was 28.5 % in 2005 of which wind power accounted for 18,5 % of this. 
The total investment in the project was nearly 45 mio Euro (340 mio DKK)
The Danish Energy Agency granted 680 800 Euro (5,1 mio DKK) to investigate the technical and environmental aspects of offshore wind power. This study analysed the following issues: 
The operator of the power grid naturally needs other sources than wind power to secure the power supply when there is no wind. When there are strong winds, it must be possible to sell the surplus production. Consequently the power supply can only be based on wind power to some extent. 
Related Facts
The EU target is for 20% of energy production to derive from renewable energy sources by 2020. EU policy. 
“Off-shore wind and ocean energy technology, integrated together, are promising to become an abundant resource worldwide” Girardet, 2008.
 
References
Case study on Copenhagen Wind Farms 
Wind Energy Denmark on Wikipedia 
The homepage of Middelgrunden Wind Turbine Cooperative 
Project description of construction of Middelgrunden Wind Farm (with maps and statistics) 
British Embassy Copenhagen about Danish Wind Energy 
 
 
Additional Information
Why wind power works for Denmark 
The Danish Energy Authority: Offshore Wind Power – Danish experiences and solutions 
 

    

    

    

    
Source URL: http://sustainablecities.dk/en/city-projects/cases/copenhagen-cities-can-run-on-wind-energy

    
Links:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen

[2] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/da.html

[3] http://www.erec.org/policy.html

[4] http://www.energie-cites.org/db/copenhagen_139_en.pdf

[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_Denmark

[6] http://www.middelgrunden.dk/MG_UK/project_info/organization.htm

[7] http://www.middelgrunden.dk/projektinfo/mg-pjece_72dpi_rgb.pdf

[8] http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1153389429217

[9] http://incoteco.com/upload/CIEN.158.2.66.pdf

[10] http://www.ens.dk/graphics/Publikationer/Havvindmoeller/uk_vindmoeller_okt05/index.htm

[11] http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=2449&refid=1924&sl=6.7.7