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Private photo
1978. Risø uses the Gedser Wind Turbine as logo for their Test Station
At the Risø Test Station for Windmills, newly established in 1978, the Gedsermill was used as logo on letterhead and streamers, and when rumors arose in 1979 that the Danish wind turbine industry would abandon the stall regulation in favor of previously used principles, employees at the Test Station fought hard to maintain stall regulation.
Source: "Vindkraftens historie i Danmark, kap. 2", Jytte Thorndahl.
1979. Certification of the Risø Test Station
"In 1979, the Danish Parliament passed a law to provide financial support for wind turbines. Anyone who bought a wind turbine could receive 30 percent of the purchase price as state aid if the system was approved by the Risø test station. This meant that the test station acquired authority status. The Risø Approval was a guarantee that government funding would not be wasted on inefficient facilities.
The test station's certification implied a much-needed credibility on the domestic market and not least on the export market, which led to a large expansion of wind turbines in California in the early 1980s. A report from the Californian wind farms from 1983 gives a vivid picture that more than half of the installed turbines were standing completely still, even though there were strong winds. The remaining turbines functioned as they should - and they were produced in Denmark."
Source: Article by Niels I. Meyer
The article is part of "Sustainable energy in Denmark - A chronicle of 25 years of growing up 1975-2000", published by OVE's Forlag in 2000.
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Nibe-windturbines A and B. Photo: Energy Museum
1978. Nibe A - a direct upscaling of Gedser Wind Turbine
"The Nibe turbines of 750 kW each were built from 1978-1980. The Nibe A was a direct improvement and upscaling of the Gedser Wind Turbine, whereas the Nibe B experimented with rotating blades - i.e. pitch-regulated - as opposed to the stall-regulated ones that were installed on Nibe A."
Source: "Gedser Wind Turbine - mother of our time's wind turbines", article by Jytte Thorndahl."
4. juli 2001 - Nibe mills are blown to pieces
"It was the then State Ministry of Trade, that, after the energy crises of the 1970s, supported the construction of wind turbines and was the legal owner of the two Nibe turbines. Where as the actual construction of the turbines was left to Elsam and the subsidiary Elsam-project. The purpose of the turbines was to highlight the possibilities of wind power as a supplement in the Danish electricity supply, as well as to gain technical knowledge with large wind turbines. Both objectives were met."
Source: ing.dk/artikel/nibemoeller
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The Riisager mill on display at the Energy Museum. Photo: The Energy Museum
1978. The Riisager mill inspired by the Gedser Wind Turbine
"The Riisager mill (from 1978) is today on display at the Energy Museum. The Riisager mill was designed with strong inspiration from the Gedser Wind Turbine. When there is enough wind, the Riisager mill at the Energy Museum still supplies electricity. "
Source: "Gedser Wind Turbine - mother of the wind turbines of our time", article by Jytte Thorndahl.
Mass production for e.g. Danish households, the Faroe Islands and the USA
"From 1976 to 1980, 72 of these windmills were built in Christian Riisager's carpentry workshop in Lind near Herning.
Riisager's wind turbines were some of the first to be mass-produced after the energy crisis in 1973. They produced alternating current and could be connected to the electricity grid. The first turbines had an output of 22 to 55 kW.
In 1980, Riisager sold a 55 kW turbine to the Faroe Islands. It was the start of a few years in the Faroe Islands, where some larger turbines with an output of 90 and 130 kW were produced. The rotorblades had a new design and the gear was also new. The wind turbines were tested for a wind force of 60 meters per second. The Faroese company received an order for 13 turbines for the USA. In 1985, Riisager stopped in the Faroe Islands when a project to develop a 200 kW turbine failed."
Source: wikipedia.org
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The 2000 kW Tvind turbine was built by the teachers and students of the Tvind school and inaugurated in 1978. It had three blades of fiberglass and was a downwind inspired by the German professor Ulrich Hütter, who was also behind the design of the large previous American and German wind turbines. Photo: The Energy Museum
1978 - The downwind Tvind turbine breaks with the "Danish concept"
"In Denmark, Ulrich Hütter's turbine became an important source of inspiration for the people behind the Tvind turbine in 1975. Unfortunately, they not only drew inspiration for the self-supporting fiberglass-reinforced blades, but also for the placement of the rotor behind the turbine tower. Therefore, they ran into the same problems as the FLS Aeromotors - only amplified by the fact that the rotor was behind the concrete tower.
The problems were solved by limiting the rotational speed of the turbine blades so that the blade pulses never came close to the natural frequency of the tower. This reduced production, but on the other hand was an advantage for the durability of the Twind turbine. And while the other large turbines from that period have long since disappeared, the Tvind turbine is still producing electricity more than 30 years later - even though the blades had to be replaced in 1992. (...)
Despite many trials with downwind turbines, the "Danish concept" with three blades in front of the tower became dominant - also internationally. However, there are still niches where downwind turbines can make their mark."
Source: "Med front mod vinden - eller med ryggen til den..", Benny Christensen, Danmarks Vindkraftshistoriske Samling. 2013.
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Vindeby Offshore Wind Farm. Photo: The Energy Museum
1991. The world's first offshore wind farm north of Lolland
When the world's first offshore wind farm was inaugurated in Vindeby north of Lolland in 1991, it was with 11 Bonus (today Siemens) wind turbines, each of 450 kW. The turbines rotated with stall-regulated rotor blades, similar to those used by Juul on the Gedser Wind Turbine. "
Source: "Gedser Wind Turbine - mother of the wind turbines of our time", article by Jytte Thorndahl.
2017 - The world's first offshore wind farm has now been taken down - one of the offshore turbines has been made available for the Energy Museum's exhibitions
" In March 2017, the contractor started dismantling the 11 wind turbines.
(..) The components will, to the greatest extent possible, be reused as spare parts for other wind turbines, while the blades will be reused in an innovative concept for noise shielding. A number of the blades will, however, be part of a research project at DTU Risø. The components that cannot be directly recycled are delivered to a certified recycling company.
- And the story of the world's first offshore wind farm off Vindeby on Lolland will be preserved for posterity, because the Energy Museum has been provided with a wind turbine from the Vindeby offshore wind farm for their exhibition in Bjerringbro, says Leif Winther, Senior Lead Business Developer at Dong Energy."
Source: energy-supply.dk
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2024 - One of the turbines from Vindeby (the world's first offshore wind farm) is preserved and exhibited at the Energy Museum. Photo: The Energy Museum
Reconstruction of the Vindeby Wind Turbine
January 2024
Quote from the Energy Museum's website: energimuseet.dk/vindebymoellen
"Since the spring of 2017, the parts for one of the world's first offshore wind turbines have been lying in the Energy Museum's parking lot, while money has been collected for restoration and rebuilding. Now the turbine has been erected and stands beautifully together with the museum's other historically important wind turbines. We call it the wind turbine industry's answer to The Grauball man, because it has a very special place in the history of wind energy.
Raising and securing a 17 meter high wind turbine (originally 33 meters high) with its full blade length is not an easy task, and the museum owes a big thank you to Ørsted, Siemens Gamesa, Connected Wind and Norlys for both financial and professional contributions.
Vindeby Wind Turbine now stands on the museum grounds together with the museum's 2 other iconic turbines, the Gedser Wind Turbine (the mother of all modern wind turbines) and the Riisager Wind Turbine (one of the first mass-produced wind turbines). Everyone helps to tell about the Danish wind turbine adventure.
We are happy and proud - and later this year, we will open a new outdoor exhibition about these historic wind turbines."
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Private photo
1993.
The former owner of the site wanted to install a newer Wincon nacelle on Juul's original tower. Juul's rotor and machine cabin were transferred to the Energy Museum in Jutland.
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Photo: Energy Museum
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1993.
The display of Juul's machine cabin and two rotor blades (the third is in storage) is one of the Energy Museum's most popular exhibitions.
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Photo: Ove Jeppesen, Gedser
EXPO 2000, World Exhibition, Hanover, Germany.
Mini model of the Gedser Wind Turbine on the Danish stand. For Ove Jeppesen, from Gedser. Expo 2000 was a welcome reunion with the Gedser wind turbine. As a resident and truck driver on South Falster, he was involved in the re-establishment of the Gedser Wind Turbine in the late 1970s.
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Brian Mikkelsen. Minister of Culture from November 27th, 2001 - September 10th, 2008
Cultural Canon 2006.
In order to safeguard Denmark's cultural heritage, the then Minister of Culture Brian Mikkelsen presented the first Danish cultural canon in 2006, which also included the Gedser wind turbine.
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Foreword ("The Gedser Wind Turbine - The mother of all wind turbines" - Published in 2015.)
A good idea doesn't necessarily have to be nice-looking
"First come, first served" - a German and Danish saying.
The Gedser Wind Turbine is a good example of how it pays to be at the forefront. The fact that Denmark was a leader in the field of wind turbines for many years has to do with the pioneering spirit that was developed in connection with the Gedser Wind Turbine.
Back in the 1950s, no one had imagined the enormous energy demand that would arise as a consequence of the growth of the 1960s. But inspired by the war's scarcity of everything from food to energy, the self-taught electrical engineer Johannes Juul had the foresight - why not try to utilize the resource we have the most: wind. And the Gedser Wind Turbine was also - despite its small size in today's eyes - the world's largest of its kind when, on the basis of Johannes Juul's experiences from previous experimental turbines, it was set up in southern Falster back in 1957..
The construction was later praised for its foresight and simplicity, and the principles from the Gedsermill have been continued in the modern wind turbines – and are therefore considered the "mother" of these.
It is precisely the extremely simple and effective way of making a stable and reliable mill that included Gedser Wind Turbine in
"Kanon for Håndværk og Design" (translated roughly: A cannon for good craftsmanship and design). This despite the fact that an otherwise impressed chairman of the government's British wind power program stated during a study visit to Gedser: "You could have made the mill a bit nicer-looking".
From the outset, my goal with the "Canon" cultural project was to capture the best of the best. The Gedser Wind Turbine is undoubtedly one of them. It's not the appearance that matters in this case.
For Danish students, the Gedser Wind Turbine is proof of how far one can go with inventiveness and willpower. Keep it up. The world is waiting for strong signals.
Brian Mikkelsen
Member of the Folketing
Minister of Economic Affairs from February 23, 2010 - February 3, 2011
Minister of Justice from September 10, 2008 - February 23, 2010
Minister of Culture from November 27th, 2001 - September 10th, 2008
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Stamps to honour
2007. Published as Post Danmark's contribution to the Year of Industrial Culture.
Source: ptt-museum.dk
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Photo: wind-turbine-models.com
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2012. Mini model of the Gedser Wind Turbine created by engineer Silvio Matysik for the German website:
wind-turbine-models.com
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Photographer: Philip Friis-Mikkelsen
2023. Mini-model at the Danish Technical Museum.
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Photo: Nicole Kühr
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2023. Nicole Kühr has offered to crochet another mini model for the planned Juuls museum. An offer, we accept with great pleasure. Also on behalf of tourists and crochet lovers.
"I am 31 years old and live in Austria. I enjoy traveling with my husband, who works as a mechanic in the wind industry and also photographs wind turbines around the world, which is why our trips usually include several stops at wind farms. In 2019 I had the opportunity to To visit your beautiful Denmark and came across your Gedser Wind Turbine.
I saw this exotic, interesting building from afar and said, "Oh wow, that looks pretty cool and so different from the other modern wind turbines. We should take a closer look."
I was told that the Gedser Wind Turbine is a kind of "mother of all wind turbines". Since I love crocheting, the idea for a new exotic project was born. After a lot of research and many mistakes, I finally succeeded, and that's why I like to invite you to show my own small Gedser Wind Turbine made of wool."
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