Middelgrunden

Middelgrunden is an offshore wind farm in the Øresund 3.5 km outside Copenhagen, Denmark. When it was built in 2000, it was the world's largest offshore farm, with 20 turbines and a capacity of 40 MW. The farm delivers about 4% of the power for Copenhagen.^[1]

History

In 1996, the project was initiated by the Copenhagen Environment and Energy Office (CEEO) after Middelgrunden had been listed as a potential site in the Danish Action Plan for Offshore Wind. Together with the CEEO a group of local people formed the Middelgrunden Wind Turbine Cooperative and established a cooperation with Copenhagen Energy, the local electric utility. The proposed location was initially opposed by the Danish Society for Nature Conservation, but this decision was later changed. Concrete gravity base foundations were chosen as the cheapest option.^[2]

Public involvement

This project is an example for community wind energy. It is 50% owned by the 10,000 investors in the Middelgrunden Wind Turbine Cooperative, and 50% by the municipal utility company.^[3] Being clearly visible from the capital of Denmark it states the importance of wind power in Denmark.

See also

• List of offshore wind farms in Denmark
• List of offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea

References

1. ^ "Environmental Capital of Europe". Copenhagen, Environmental Capital of Europe. Archived from the original on 2007-07-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20070706184255/http://www.cece.dk/EE0911AA-D9A1-49E8-9CA2-332E37BBA568. Retrieved 2009-01-05. 
2. ^ Larsen, Jens H. The World´s largest off-shore windfarm, Middelgrunden 40MW Copenhagen Environment and Energy Office (CEEO), 2001. Retrieved: 19 November 2010.
3. ^ Hans Christian Sørensen, Lars Kjeld Hansen, Jens H. Mølgaard Larsen (2002). "Middelgrunden 40 MW offshore wind farm Denmark: Lessons Learned" (PDF). SPOK Consult. http://www.emu-consult.dk/includes/middelgrunden_munich.pdf. Retrieved 2007-06-21. 

External links

• Middelgrunden Wind Turbine Cooperative (English page)
• LORC Knowledge - Datasheet for Middelgrunden Offshore Wind Farm

Coordinates: 55°41′27″N 12°40′13″E / 55.690963°N 12.67024°E / 55.690963; 12.67024