Denmark is a world leader in wind energy technology. In order to stay ahead of competitors and keep on top of the field, Denmark is embarking on testing new turbines. Riso, the National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy at the Technical University of Denmark recently announced their plans for an elaborate new testing center.
The center is expected to be up and running sometime in 2011 and will be located in Osterild, Denmark. The plan for the center is to test gigantic wind turbines, turbines which are far larger than the average wind turbine. The center is also expected to test the placement of turbines in different conditions.
The testing center will be home to at least seven immense wind turbines, each measuring about 820 feet. The normal sized wind turbines currently in use on land average only around 400 feet, with offshore wind turbines tending towards larger sizes. Additional instruments will be built at lesser heights in order to work with the turbines and others to measure meteorological data. Each wind turbine will have the energy capacity of between 15 and 20 megawatts.
Riso currently has another testing center in Hovsore, however, this location can only test turbines up to a little over 500 feet. The terrain at Hovsore is also different from Osterild, giving the test center further information on wind turbines in different environments and sizes. Hovsore is mainly flat land while Osterild is a combination of woodlands and countryside. The center is planning on locating some of the wind turbines in the wooded area.
Until the larger wind turbines can be built and installed, Osterild is expected to test normal wind turbines. The first large wind turbine is expected to be up and running by 2012. Riso is also working on potentially building a grid-connection facility with other leaders in wind energy.
