Page 37 - Sjæklen2010

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wind farms, thereby extending their total offshore portfolio.
This generated a taste for more, and more and more oil- and
gas-related Esbjerg companies began to add offshore wind
energy to their expertise.
Where Esbjergwith its status as base harbour had enjoyed
a secure position as Denmark’s centre for the extraction of
hydrocarbons from the Danish North Sea, the situation for
the offshore with turbine market was different. Denmark
was the world leader in the area, but the wind turbine in-
dustry had started up on land, and the leading companies
were located in various places in Denmark. There was thus
no immediate centre for the activities. With its experiences
in the offshore oil and gas activities, Esbjerg had also built
up expertise in relation to the establishment and operation
of offshore wind farms. But after the opening of Horns Reef
2, it was discovered that many others had also developed an
eye for the potentially growing market for offshore turbines,
and not only in Denmark.
Although Danish-based wind turbine manufacturers
– not least in the offshore area – still had an advantage in
terms of experience, more and more competitors appeared
on the international scene. At the same time, the financial
crisis made its mark on the desire to invest in wind energy.
With the threat of moving production to the export markets
if Danish companies were not given a boost in their develop-
ment of more wind farms and test centres to enable the test-
ing and demonstration of the latest turbines, Vestas pres-
sured the Danish government in 2009 to provide new op-
tions. The Lindoe Offshore Renewable Centre, established
2010 at the former Lindø shipyard, could be seen as a reply
to this challenge. The plans were met with protests from
Esbjerg, which argued that “two offshore centres in Den-
mark are one too many”. The Lindø Centre became a real-
ity, but the sector’s tailwind was becalmed, and in autumn
2010, Vestas found it necessary to close four of its Danish
production sites. Notwithstanding its strategic location and
substantial potential, it was reluctantly recognised in Esb-
jerg that the battle over offshore wind would be hard – not
merely national, but global.
Morgendis over havmølleparkerne på Horns Rev.