The Three Windmills in Hvide Sande
Gæster i Hvide Sande kan næsten ikke undgå at lægge mærke til de store vindmøller, der står ved foden til Vesterhavet. De tre mastodonter er resultatet af et lokalt initiativ, der har bragt Hvide Sande på verdenskortet.
In 2013 Hvide Sande reaped international glory for its grand windmill project because the major part of the profit from the three windmills is applied to investments in the city’s harbour and the town’s continual economic growth. The rest of the profit benefits their 400 local shared owners. This so called ‘Hvide Sande Model’, which is a local initiative, won the European Solar Prize in 2013. This prize is awarded to projects concerning energy, which are especially noticeable and innovative.
The Expansion of Hvide Sande Harbour
The three windmills help secure the continued economic growth of both the harbour and the town and are therefore greatly endorsed by the local population. The harbour makes a lot of money on housing the windmills; five million Danish kroner a year. This has made possible a large harbour expansion and a secure future for the harbour with a 148 million Danish kroner investment.
Green Energy
The three Vestas-windmills, which started producing energy in March 2012, stand 150 meters tall. They produce a lot of green energy and, luckily, the surf on the beach drowns out the noise that the windmills make. The foundation Hvide Sande Erhvervsudvikling owns 80 % of the windmills, and the money generated then benefits the local business and tourism industry in the Ringkøbing Skjern Municipality.