Samsoe, the `Green Energy' Island

May 08 - Sunday Mail; Kuala Lumpur

WITH its capital named the environmental capital of Europe, Denmark has a strong reputation for its environmental conservation efforts. In a series of articles over the next six weeks, CHAN CHENG TUAN, who visited the country for three weeks recently, looks at some examples which could perhaps inspire us to take greater care of our own environment.

ONCE upon a time, in 1997 to be exact, a tiny island boasting picturesque scenery right out of a Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale became Denmark's first and only renewable energy island after being selected in a national competition.

Measuring only 114 sq km, Samsoe may be small in size but it is definitely big on ambition and initiative, especially where the use of renewable energy is concerned.

The 4,400 residents of the island, led by the Samsoe Energy and Environment Office, have shown that renewable energy need not remain wishful thinking and can be utilised in day-to-day lives.

"As the renewable energy island, Samsoe is expected to show within 10 years that it is possible to convert its energy supply to 100 per cent renewable energy," says Soren Hermansen, manager of the Samsoe Energy and Environment Office.

Although the island is only into its sixth year of generating renewable energy since actual work started in 1998, the track record so far has been impressive, especially since the use of renewable energy has been an initiative of the local people themselves and not of the authorities.

Using 11 wind turbines (modern windmills) on the island and 10 located off-shore to generate electricity, the island has managed to produce 100 per cent of its annual electricity consumption, which is 28,000 MWh per year.

Three district heating plants, using solar power and heat generated from burning straw and wood chips, contribute 70 per cent to the total heat production.

Another 250 houses on the island also have individual renewable energy installations such as solar heating, stoves and wood burners.

Samsoe's success in using renewable energy as an alternative source to fossil fuel is largely due to the support of her own sons and daughters.

"In the first year of the project, we spent a lot of time disseminating information, we went house to house to explain about the project and the benefits from renewable energy," says Hermansen.

"The community is more inclined to support the project because they see it as something that is done locally by local people. As such, people participate not because they are forced to by the authorities but because they want to."

In involving the local community even further in the project, local resources are used and opportunities, such as buying shares in the wind turbine projects, are given to local businesses, associations and individuals.

"As a result, the renewable energy project has generated not only more job opportunities but also more challenging jobs and boosts the local economy, such as the hotel and restaurant business and also the tourism sector," Hermansen adds.

One of those who strongly support the use of renewable energy is 59- year-old dairy farmer Erik Andersen who has a reputation of being "a bit crazy" due to his penchant for trying out new things such as the renewable energy technology.

To Andersen, switching from using oil for heating to renewable technology such as using solar power and wood stove to generate heat for the house, is a logical and economical step.

"Oil prices are rising all the time. I used to spend DKK15,000 (about RM9,800) a year on oil. With the solar heating, I spent DKK100,000 in installation fees but it is a lifetime investment. Even my wife agrees that it is a good idea," says the jovial Andersen who has been farming for 42 years.

Andersen says that renewable technology is not only cheaper in the long run but also cleaner, adding that he was encouraged to give it a go after being impressed with the island's renewable energy project.

"I wanted to do my bit to help the island achieve its renewable energy objectives and so far, I have no complaints." He expects to have the last laugh yet on those who are stubbornly sticking to oil for heating.

Another farmer who has enjoyed the benefits of renewable energy is Jorgen Tranberg who owns one of the wind turbines on the island.

He invested DKK6 million in a wind turbine five years ago and sells the energy generated to a power company at a price fixed by the government.

Tranberg, who is also chairman of the Samsoe Energy and Environment Office, viewed it as a good investment, adding that other farmers in the area also owned wind turbines and all of them think that renewable energy is a good idea.

"What is important is that it is an initiative by the local people," he stresses.

For blacksmith Ole Hemmingsen, the renewable technology project has meant more jobs for him as he converts the heating system in the houses on the island to connect them to the district heating plants. He also assembles solar panels.

"People have begun to realise that it is at least 20 per cent cheaper to get heating from the district heating plants than to use oil to generate heat in their homes," he says.

The success of Samsoe as a renewable energy island has been such an inspiration that experts from around the world including Nepal, Japan and Indonesia have visited the island to study its implementation.

Hermansen says a Renewable Energy Academy would be set up next May in the hope of sharing technology and know-how with other experts. "It doesn't mean that what we do on Samsoe should be duplicated in other places. I always tell people to tailor the concept to suit their needs and conditions. What we have here is a model to show that it is possible to use renewable energy instead of conventional methods," he says.

The only challenge to the use of renewable energy, Hermansen says, is in the transportation sector. "It is difficult to convert transport to utilise renewable technology. The 10 off-shore wind turbines, with a total capacity of 23 MW, will produce and export an amount of energy equivalent to that consumed by the transport sector.

"This energy will replace power which would otherwise be derived from fossil fuel sources. We hope to utilise this electricity in order to produce hydrogen as fuel for transportation in future."

Samsoe may not have achieved the perfect ending yet in its renewable energy fairy tale but with rising fuel cost around the world and depleting energy resources, who's to say her people will not live happily ever after on wind and sunshine?

* Next week: Wind power and incineration