Vindeby Offshore Wind Farm

Vindeby Offshore Wind Farm was the first offshore wind farm in the world, erected in 1991 off the coast of the town of Vindeby on the Danish island of Lolland. It was decommissioned for cost reasons in 2017 after 25 years of useful life.

Vindeby Offshore Wind Farm
CountryDenmark
Coordinates54°58′12″N 11°7′48″E
StatusDecommissioned
Commission date1991
Decommission date2017
Construction cost75 million Danish kroner
Owner(s)Ørsted
Wind farm
Type
Max. water depth4 m (13 ft)
Distance from shore2 km (1 mi)
Hub height35
Rotor diameter35
Power generation
Units operational11 x 450 kW
Make and modelBonus
Nameplate capacity4.95 MW
Capacity factor22.1%[1]
Annual net output9.61 GW·h (lifetime average)
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons

History

Elkraft, one of the predecessors of DONG Energy (now Ørsted), began considering offshore turbines in 1987, and surveyed the waters around Lolland in 1989.[2]

The wind farm started operation in 1991 and cost an estimated €10 million, built by SEAS and Elkraft. The 11 turbines were erected in 11 days.[3] The electricity industry at the time generally considered offshore turbines to be ludicrous, as they must operate in salty conditions and have much smaller output than central power plants.[4][3] The skeptical attitude had changed 6 years later, as offshore winds drove more energy production than those on land.[5][6]

A single wind turbine had been erected in Swedish waters earlier, but Vindeby was the first collection of turbines, making it the first offshore wind farm.[3] Four years later, the similar sized Tunø Knob wind farm was made.[7][8] Tests were done to learn what to do and what not to do. Experience from Vindeby contributed to the development of cheaper ways to extract power from offshore winds.[9]

The original government concession was for 25 years, from 1991 to 2016. In 2016, DONG Energy first considered shutting down the wind farm, as it was well past its design life and had become uneconomical. Vindeby was the first in a long line of successful wind farms which led a downwards cost trend.[4][10] Vindeby was the first wind farm to be decommissioned by Dong Energy, which was completed in September 2017.[11][12] In 25 years, Vindeby had produced a total of 243 GWh.[13]

Technology

The developers contracted Bonus Energy to supply 11 wind turbines (450 kW each) for the project, placed in shallow waters.[14] The annual power was equivalent to 2-3,000 Danish households. The turbines were modified for offshore use by sealing the towers and controlling the humidity inside with air conditioning,[15] extending the life of the machinery.[16][3]

The area was also used for a wave plant in 2010.[17]

Recycling and waste management

When the Vindeby Offshore Wind Farm was taken down in 2017, most of the components were recycled into new use, particularly metals and concrete.[12] All 33 wind turbine blades (1.2 tonnes each, 39 tonnes total)[18] were sent to various organisations for further use. Most were examined by Risø, some were re-acquired by their manufacturer LM Wind Power or displayed at museums,[12] and some were recycled into noise barriers.[13] However, 1.1 tonne of the fiberglass from the hub ended as cut up at the Rærup Controlled Landfill near Aalborg, even though it is not an environmentally friendly way of handling waste.[12][19]

See also

References
  1. "Capacity factors at Danish offshore wind farms". energynumbers.info. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  2. "Elkraft igang med verdens første offshore møllepark" Ingeniøren, 18 August 1989. Accessed: 9 February 2016.
  3. Korsgaard Nielsen, Michael. "Fra energiens originaler til bølgernes gulddrenge" Berlingske, 8 February 2016
  4. Korsgaard Nielsen, Michael. "Farvel til verdens første hav-møller" Berlingske, 8 February 2016
  5. "Elsektoren positiv over for havmøller". Ingeniøren. 10 April 1997.
  6. "Elværkerne klar til aftale om havmøller". Ingeniøren. 22 May 1997.
  7. "Havmøller i disen - Ingeniøren". 10 August 1995.
  8. Tornbjerg, Jesper (26 January 1996). "Vindmølle-fest på Tunø Knob". Ingeniøren (in Danish). Archived from the original on 15 October 2022.
  9. Andersen, Jan. "Stålfundamenter gør havmøller billigere" Ingeniøren, 14 January 1997. Accessed: 9 February 2016.
  10. DONG to dismantle Vindeby 4c
  11. "Dong completes Vindeby removal". 6 September 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  12. Jensen, Lars Bie (1 November 2017). "VNB Decom - Afrapportering af Vindeby NedtagningHavmøllepark - PDF Gratis download". docplayer.dk. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020.
  13. "Decommissioned wind turbine blades becomes noise barriers". Wind Denmark International. 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022.
  14. "Vindeby". 4C Offshore Limited. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  15. Prinds, Karsten (20 April 2011). "Where offshore wind was invented". LORC. Archived from the original on 29 April 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  16. Stenstrop, Georg. Vindeby Kulturarv. Retrieved: 9 February 2016. Archive
  17. "Verdens første kombinerede bølge- og vindkraftanlæg søsat". Ingeniøren. 22 June 2010.
  18. Dodd, Jan. "From powering homes to shielding them from noise". www.windpowermonthly.com.
  19. Olifent, Louise; Fredsted, Rasmus; Møgelbjerg 5, Sebastian Himmelstrup og Thomas (17 April 2020). "Glasfiber fra Vindeby Havmøllepark endte på losseplads i Aalborg". Ingeniøren (in Danish). Retrieved 15 September 2022. mens langt de fleste af vindmølledelene blev genanvendt som reservedele eller indgik i anden form for nyttiggørelse, endte 1,1 ton glasfiberaffald fra vindmøllernes rotorsnuder i et nedgravet deponi.
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