The Middelgrunden project is an offshore wind farm with a rated power capacity of 40 MW. The contracts have been signed December 1999, and the park will be operational in the autumn 2000. The project consisting of 20 wind turbines at each 2 MW, will be situated just 2 km outside the Copenhagen harbor on shallow water (3–5 meter depth). The use of the area is restricted due to its former use as a dumpsite for harbor sludge. The wind farm is owned fifty/fifty by a wind energy cooperative and the Copenhagen Utility. This article summarizes the experiences from the planning of the project, and draws the perspectives for the future development of offshore wind power in Europe.
Today more than 100,000 Danish families are members of wind energy cooperatives and such owners have installed 80% of all Danish wind turbines. Until recently, the cooperatives were a very important and dominant factor in the development of the Danish wind energy sector (see figure 1). Since then, single person ownership has by far superseded the importance of the cooperatives. In the coming years the utilities are expected to play an increasing role in the establishment of large-scale offshore wind farms. The program of the Danish utilities alone has a total power of 750 MW within the next 8 years (The Offshore Wind-farm Working Group, 1997; Svenson et. al., 1999). The Middelgrunden project has obtained planning permissions in May 1999 and formal political approval from the Danish Energy Agency in December 1999. Contracts with the turbine manufacturer and the foundations and grid contractors have been signed in December 1999. A long-term contract governing the wholesale price of the energy production of the farm, as well as grid connection costs are currently being negotiated with the Danish Energy Agency.
