IJMUIDEN, Netherlands — There is no shortage of wind in the densely populated Netherlands, but there is a shortage of space and in a nation that likes its houses small and its gardens cosy, opposition to wind farms is immense.
That is why a new Dutch wind farm is being built so far out to sea that it is barely visible on the horizon, reducing the visual impact of its 60 turbines to virtually nil while at the same time harnessing higher offshore wind speeds.
Offshore wind farms are likely to appear more and more frequently off European coastlines as governments seek to increase their use of renewable energy without angering their citizens by placing giant turbines on their doorsteps.
The €383-million ($549-million Canadian) Q7 wind park development, 23 kilometres from the Dutch North Sea coast, is the farthest offshore wind park anywhere in the world, and its developers Econcern and Eneco Energie say a further five to 10 such wind parks will likely follow in the next few years.
"Q7 will contribute enough electricity for 125,000 households, but it is also a learning process. We are learning how to build these wind farms, how to organize the supply chain, and how to manage and operate them," said Bernard van Hemert, one of the wind farm's engineering directors.
"Most campaigns against turbines are based around the noise and the visual impact, and these have been reduced by going offshore. It is more expensive to do it here than to do it on land, but we have all agreed we don't have enough space on land," Mr. van Hemert said.
Blessed with shallow sandy soils around their coastline, Dutch engineers say the foundations for the turbines can be hammered 25 metres into the ground in just a matter of hours, although there are myriad other challenges.
The proportions are breathtaking. The turbines extend about 98 metres from the ocean, with three sharp narrow blades, each 40 metres long.
It is hoped that when they start rotating in early 2008 they will cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 225,000 tonnes, helping the Dutch to meet a target of 20-per-cent renewable energy use by 2020.
Tricky logistics
The turbines are so massive that they can be transported only by sea and there is only one factory in Europe which can weld and construct the 4.5-metre-diameter piles, which must be first driven into the sea to form the base of the turbines, Mr. van Hemert said.
"It is a huge logistical operation that requires lots of space. There are only a few crane vessels that can handle those huge structures and hammer them down.
"But bringing up the cables is the most challenging for all offshore wind projects."
Expert divers are helping to fit the electrics.
Developers have also had to ensure that the wind park is well away from busy shipping channels.
"Studies in the United Kingdom have shown that there can be some radio interference but in the situation we have here it is completely safe and there is no risk of confusion or reduced visibility for vessels."
Jim Mollet, chairman of a Dutch group campaigning against wind energy acknowledges off-shore wind farms have some benefits over land-based wind turbines.
"They can be a better solution. But the problem is people tend to believe they are an entire solution. We think the vast sums spent on wind farms would be better spent on research and innovation in other energy sources."
Wind farms cannot generate the sheer amounts of energy the continent requires with cost or space efficiency, he added.
NEAR WASCO, Ore. - A giant wind turbine tower collapsed Saturday in Eastern Oregon, causing a worker to fall to his death and another man to be injured.
The man killed is from Goldendale, Wash., while the second man is from Minnesota, according to Deputy Geremy Shull of the Sherman County Sheriff's Office.
The man from Minnesota was at last check listed in serious but stable condition at Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles, Shull said.
He did not release the names of the men.
The incident happened about 4 p.m. at a wind farm about six miles east of the town of Wasco in Sherman County, Shull said. Portland-based PPM Energy owns the wind farm but Florida-based Siemens Power Generation manufactured and owns the wind turbine tower that collapsed.
Melanie Forbrick, a Siemens spokeswoman, said three people were at the site when the accident happened, two of whom were Siemens Power Generation employees and a third a contractor.
Shull said the worker killed in the incident was at the top of a turbine tower when the support column holding the turbine buckled about halfway up and toppled over. Forbrick said the injured man was inside of the tower at the time while the third worker, who escaped injury, was at the base.
She said the turbine had been in operation for 500 hours and the workers were doing a routine inspection.
Forbrick said federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials were on site Sunday investigating.
"We are very saddened by this event and our sympathy goes out to the families and the workers as well," Forbrick said.
Forbrick said she did not know how the height of the turbine. Bonneville Power Administration documents from last year said the turbine towers would stand 263 feet high and reach about 400 feet with blades included. The Klondike III wind project, located in the wheat fields near Wasco, is expected to generate 221 megawatts of electricity when it's completed in late 2007, said Jan Johnson, a spokeswoman for PPM Energy. PPM is using 44 Siemens 2.3 megawatt wind turbines and 80 General Electric 1.5 megawatt wind turbines. - The Associated Press contributed to this report.
