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| Map of countries where Danish wind turbines have been exported | Top ten wind energy companies 1997 | Annual sales from Danish wind turbine companies in MW 1983-97 |
World Beaters - The Danish Wind Industry
Denmark's record
Better technology
Cheaper power
More jobs
Local owners
"Wind is our cheapest option to cut greenhouse gas emissions" Egon Soegaard, President of Elsam, Danish electricity utility
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| Map of countries where Danish wind turbines have been exported | Top ten wind energy companies 1997 | Annual sales from Danish wind turbine companies in MW 1983-97 |
Denmark's wind energy industry is a major commercial success story. From a standing start in the 1980s to a turnover last year of US$ 750 million, its growth rate challenges those of the internet or mobile phones. Danish wind turbines dominate the global market and the country has forged itself a position at the head of the fastest growing energy source in the world.
Over the past 15 years the Danish wind turbine industry has grown into one of the heavyweights in machinery manufacturing. In 1981, the industry consisted of a handful of small companies and individuals, many working in garages and sheds. In 1998 there are five major turbine manufacturers, a score of large component suppliers and dozens of smaller suppliers. From a few hundred workers in 1981 the industry now employs 12,000 people. And its sales have increased from just US$ 3 million to over US$ 750 million.
The last four years have seen an exceptionally steady and dramatic increase in the production of Danish wind turbines. Output has more than quadrupled, with a record 968 megawatts (1,654 wind turbines) produced in 1997 alone. Danish manufacturers now have almost 60% of the world turbine market.
In Denmark itself a record-breaking 580 wind turbines were installed last year. This brought the total to almost 5,000, and with enough power output to cover 7% of Danish electricity consumption. No other country in the world produces such a high proportion of wind energy. In the process, Danish emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide are being cut by 3 per cent.
The Danes have also established a thriving export business. Around half of the wind turbines installed around the world have been built by Danish manufacturers. In 1997, Danish companies exported their machines to twenty countries, including Ireland, Canada, Finland, Japan, Poland, Argentina and the United States. Production facilities have been established in India, China, Spain, Italy and Germany.
The production of wind turbines has become the country's fourth largest export commodity.
This impressive growth has been based not just on an expanding world market (see Briefing 3) but on consistent improvements in the technology and its economics. Over the last decade the average capacity of Danish wind turbines has increased six times to almost 600 kilowatts. Productivity has gone up even faster. In the last fifteen years the energy output per turbine has increased 100 times, whilst both their weight and their sound level have been reduced by half. This is partly due to better technology, partly due to taller towers and partly to more effective siting.
A typical 600 kilowatt wind turbine can produce up to two million units of electricity in a year. This is equivalent to the annual power consumption of 400 households.
And more powerful turbines are already on the way. Having refined the technology with smaller models, Danish engineers are moving up the scale again. All the large manufacturers now have turbines on the market with a capacity of 1 megawatt or more. The largest, from Vestas, has a rating of 1.65 megawatts. The twin advantages of larger machines are more power from a single unit and less land occupied. Over 130 (end 1997) 1 megawatt + turbines are already in operation around Europe.
Wind energy has also been getting steadily cheaper. In the eight years up to 1986, the cost of investing in wind turbines fell by an annual 8%[1]. Today, according to Danish electricity companies, the energy cost per unit of wind power is the same as for new coal-fired power stations fitted with smoke scrubbing equipment - about five US cents for an average European site.
Energy consultant Birger Madsen expects the cost to fall even further during the early part of the next century - to only two or three US cents per unit[2].
Wind turbine manufacture has become an important source of employment. The
Danish wind energy industry now employs more people than the fishing fleet.
The latest figures show that 12,000 people have been employed both directly and
indirectly in jobs dependent on the wind industry[3]. This includes manufacturers, designers, component
suppliers, engineers and consultants as well as those involved in site
investigations, construction and maintenance.
A further 12,000 jobs have been created in other countries around the world where Danish turbines are installed or Danish companies have established factories and joint ventures.
Most of the wind turbines in Denmark are owned privately, either by individuals
or by specially formed cooperatives. Ownership of turbines has been limited to
those who live locally, and only up to a fixed maximum investment.
The result is that over 100,000 Danish families now either own or have shares
in wind energy schemes. This has been an important factor in the popularity of
wind power.
A recent opinion poll showed Vestas, Denmark's largest wind turbine manufacturer, as the country's second most "environmentally friendly" company.
[1] * Study by Risø National
Laboratory.
[2] ** "The Market for Wind Power", Wind Power
Note 13, May 1997, Danish Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association.
[3] *** Employment study by Danish Wind Turbine
Manufacturers Association, 1995, updated 1998.