Sam Davis is a former King student who is studying in Denmark. Denmark is a country known for being advanced in its use of renewable energy. Over 20% of Denmark’s electricity is generated from renewable sources such as wind and solar, while only 7% of the US’s energy is renewable. Sam has offered to serve as an “International Expert” and share his experiences in Denmark with you.
In groups of two or three, write a well thought out question to Sam. Try to find out how people generate and use energy in Denmark. Think about how this could be similar or different from the way we generate and use energy in Maine. Make sure to scan through the other comments to make sure you are not repeating a question.
Sam will try to respond to your questions to the best of his ability.
30 responses so far ↓
Howa, Grace, Brandon // May 5, 2008 at 2:27 pm
How does wind energy make electricity?
Valerie F. // May 5, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Do most people in Denmark like having windfarms or not like it?
-Val & Nolan
Alexis F., Nicole E., Garang A. // May 5, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Do you have a wind turbine near your house?
Isaac A. and abdi abdullahi and julia // May 5, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Do you get alot of tourist to see the wind mills?
Grania P. Kate H. Mahad M. // May 5, 2008 at 2:29 pm
How high up does a turbine have to be in order to work?
Have there been any protests against the windmills where you live?
Iqbal & Abdi // May 5, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Iqbal
In Denmark is there any problem with fish because of wind mill?
Abdi
Are you with/against wind turbines?
Jacob B, Janna, Brandon M // May 5, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Do wind turbines really ruin your view?
Noah L, Owen C, and Ben D // May 5, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Hi Sam!
In the off shore wind farms, how are the turbines supported in the current so they don’t wobble and/or sink in the water?
Thanks a lot.
Sincerely,
Noah, Owen and Ben
Hugh C. Devon M. Arsen T. // May 5, 2008 at 2:31 pm
How loud/annoying are turbines, and how far away can they be heard from?
John T. // May 5, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Is wind currently the fastest and best way to get renewable energy?
John T.
Courtney B.
Peter N.
Lily A. and Jacob M. // May 5, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Dear Sam,
Depending on what type of wind turbine, will they increase or decrease taxes since it takes about two-million dollars to builf them?
Alexis W. , Kahdeem S., Zoe M. // May 5, 2008 at 2:32 pm
1. What is the difference between a wind turbine and a windmills?
Is it just a different design or does it have a different function.
Alexis W. , Kahdeem S., Zoe M.
Max Cece Madeleine // May 5, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Are all the wind turbines you have seen white? Are they all in the ocean? Do you get a general sense that most people don’t mind them?
Liam McNeill and Marcus Griffin // May 5, 2008 at 4:31 pm
How many wind turbines do you see on a daily basis?
Liam M, Marcus G.
Dylan B. // May 5, 2008 at 4:31 pm
How deep is the water at the offshore wind farms? Is it more costly to construct wind farms off shore than on shore?
Tim, Bounahra, Myoung // May 5, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Hey Sam,
How much does a wind turbine weigh?
Does it depend on what type of wind turbines?
Morgan, Jesse, and Hannah // May 5, 2008 at 4:33 pm
What were some selling points that were used to win over the people who were against the wind turbines, in order to convince them that they’re a good idea?
Djuna, Zahri, Mary // May 5, 2008 at 4:34 pm
What exactly is the process of getting yourself a wind turbine? Do you need any permits or anything like that? Are there big companies to go to yet?
thank you!
~Mary,
~Djuna, and
~Zahri
Zam Zam A. and Sofi Francis // May 5, 2008 at 4:35 pm
How do you get the wind turbines in the water?
Sierra,Tony,Sabrina // May 5, 2008 at 4:35 pm
do the wind turbines make noise?
how tall is the tallest wind turbine?
Natalie A // May 5, 2008 at 4:36 pm
There has been a big debate in the USA about the purposed wind farm in Nantucket sound. The debate has been going on for a while. How long did it take to convince the people in Denmark that wind farms are good?
Natalie, and Keshia
Sean B., Isaac J. // May 5, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Have the wind turbines off the coast interfered with the flight paths of airplanes?
When the contractors built the turbines, did they purposely avoid airports?
Thank you,
Sean, Isaac J.
Ricardo Stephen Connor // May 5, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Do you see many custom colored windmills where you live?
How many year last oh the wind turbine?
Sabir // May 5, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Are there alot of turbines found around where you live?
Can you make your own Turbines and millfarms.
Mohamed Ali // May 5, 2008 at 4:56 pm
How fast does the windmills spin per hour
Mohamed Ali // May 5, 2008 at 4:59 pm
How fast do the windmills spin per hour
Marcus G // May 6, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I learned that a homeowner could buy a wind turbine. The wind turbines shut off if the wind is blowing to fast and that the smaller ones only cost 13,000
You could buy a turbine and get better windows
How much money would it take to make a wind turbine that can power a house.
Sam Davis // May 6, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Hi everybody,
thanks for your questions, I can’t answer all of them but I’ll do my best to answer as many as I can.
Do most people in Denmark like having wind farms or not like it?
- Most everybody in Denmark likes having the wind farms and people here have actually been upset with the current government because they have cut back on the number of new windmills put up. In general the Danes are much more environmentally conscious that people in the US
Do you have a wind turbine near your house?
- I live in the middle of Copenhagen so I don’t have a windmill near my apartment, but if I walk down to the waterfront I can see the wind farms on the ocean just off the coast.
How high up does a turbine have to be in order to work?
- Fairly tall, somewhere between 80-200 feet is what I’ve read.
Have there been any protests against the windmills where you live?
- There haven’t been any protests about wind turbines in Denmark at all to my knowledge, people are more upset that the government isn’t putting up more turbines as opposed to the other way around.
In Denmark is there any problem with fish because of wind mill?
- Not that I have heard of in the news recently but I can’t say for sure.
Are you with/against wind turbines?
- I am for them, I have yet to see any serious drawbacks to them compared to old fashioned power plants and if the people of Denmark can live with so many wind farms and still be rated the happiest people in the world I don’t see
why we couldn’t use wind turbines as well.
Do wind turbines really ruin your view?
- There are places where they detract from the view, the wind farm just off the coast is not very attractive in my opinion. One thing to know is that Denmark is almost entirely developed
with farms, meaning that there are not the same large forests and wildlife like we have in Maine, so there are less views to ruin.
How loud/annoying are turbines, and how far away can they be heard from?
- I have never heard noise from them while living in the city and even when I traveled to western Denmark and the countryside I couldn’t hear them over the wind. When I was in Holland I drove right by one up close and while I could hear it it wasn’t too loud or annoying. The only way I would think that the noise would be
annoying is if your house was right next to one.
Is wind currently the fastest and best way to get renewable energy?
- In Denmark I would say it is. In Western Denmark are some of the worlds largest wind turbine producers so it is easy for Denmark
to add more. Also Denmark is a very flat country, the highest point in Denmark is actually a bridge connected two of the islands if I
remember correctly, meaning that it is very windy here almost all the time.
Depending on what type of wind turbine, will they increase or decrease taxes since it takes about two-million dollars to builf them?
- This question is tricky because Denmark has a very unique tax system not at all like ours. In the US most people pay only 33% of their total income in taxes but in Denmark they pay 63% in taxes. Because of this the government works very differently than what we have in the States. That said they wouldn’t increase taxes in Denmark but they might back home.
What is the difference between a wind turbine and a windmills?
- Windmills are shorter and have more blades and do not actually produce electricity, they are used mostly on farms for doing things like pumping water or grinding grain. Wind turbines only have 2-3 blades and are much taller. The blades turn a shaft which turns a motor that is connected to a generator creating electricity.
Are all the wind turbines you have seen white? Are they all in the ocean? Do you get a general sense that most people don’t mind them?
- All the windmills that I’ve seen, not just in Denmark but in Holland, Germany, and France as well, are white. The only turbines I’ve seen in the ocean are the ones off the coast of Copenhagen, they have them all over the country on the land. In general I don’t think the people notice or care about the turbines here,
for them it is just a part of daily life.
How many wind turbines do you see on a daily basis?
- Since I live in the city not that many, I only see them when I go down to the waterfront and I can only see about 8 of them. There are a lot more out in the countryside.
What were some selling points that were used to win over the people who were against the wind turbines, in order to convince them that they’re a good idea?
- I don’t know exactly what the arguments were but in general there was a lot less resistance to them in Denmark. Here I think it is fair to say that a lot more people were in favor of having
them from the beginning.
Have the wind turbines off the coast interfered with the flight paths of airplanes? When the contractors built the turbines, did they purposely avoid airports?
- If they have altered the flight of airplanes I haven’t heard about it. Actually when you fly into the Copenhagen airport you can see two of the large wind farms just off the coast and you almost fly right over them. They have been here for awhile though so I haven’t heard anything about problems the discussed when building them.
Do you see many custom colored windmills where you live?
- I don’t, in fact just about every windmill I’ve seen are the same color (white), and the same model made by the Danish company in western Denmark whos name I’m forgetting.
Hopefully I answered those questions well and if you have anymore questions for me I would be glad to answer. Unfortunately my technical knowledge of how the wind turbines work is limited so I wasn’t able to answer many of those types of questions. Some questions were similar as well so if I didn’t answer yours directly I may have tried to answer it in another question somewhere. Good luck on your projects and I look forward to hopefully seeing them when they are done!
Sam Davis
Malachi&John // May 8, 2008 at 3:17 pm
we love the fan!!!!!
John The Magnificent // May 8, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I truly rocks- although it almost cut off my head.