Port of Call LAST UPDATE June 13, 2010
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June 1, 2010 Copenhagen, Denmark – A renewable future
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The polymer is an incredibly tough and durable material which greatly reduces the weight of a building.
The Green Lighthouse is one of the strangest buildings participants on the 69th Voyage have been to. For starters there are no corners. It is round to maximise the sunlight which pours in from the roof that is almost completely made of skylights. The outside consists of a super lightweight material called polymers which is 30 per cent glass and 70 per cent maize starch, a natural substance. "The facade weighs only six tonnes, but the outside of a building this size would normally be 120 tonnes," our guide Mai-Britt Peterson tells us. We are in Copenhagen to learn about sustainability as part of Peace Boat's Global University Programme. The city uses the most renewable energy per capita and has long been at the forefront in harnessing alternative power sources such as wind and solar. The city is so well regarded by the international community, that last year leaders from across the world travelled to Copenhagen as part of talks about developing a new agreement to help prevent climate change.
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Even on overcast days electrical lighting is used sparingly because the building is illuminated by sunlight.
Every aspect of the Green Lighthouse has been specifically designed so that the building is almost carbon neutral. It was built last year by the University of Copenhagen, and relied on funds provided by the city council and business groups. There are 15 people working in the offices throughout the Green Lighthouse and the building's performance will be reviewed by the university in October 2010. During its first year in use, it is expected that Green Lighthouse will generate less than 30 kilowatts per square metre. This is far less than the 97 kilowatt restriction placed on similar-sized buildings by Copenhagen city planners. Furthermore, almost all of the power is provided by 76 square metres of solar panels which line the outside of the building. Copenhagen is a cold city, so Green Lighthouse will sometimes rely on electricity from the local power plant when its solar reserves run out. But this is such a small amount that the final electricity bill is expected to be only $212 USD for the entire year.
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Christina Anderskov says the first of a new group of turbines will be built in Copenhagen by 2013.
Copenhagen has reduced its carbon emissions by 20 per cent since 1999 and is planning to reduce them by another 20 per cent by 2015. At Denmark's Greenpeace office we speak to Christina Anderskov, the city official in charge of Copenhagen's plan to become more environmentally friendly. She says that there are more than 34 projects underway to cut the city's emissions, ranging from encouraging people to ride bicycles, to utilising natural energy sources "At least 75 per cent of the reduction by 2015 will come from changing our energy consumption," she says. "This is a huge amount and it is deliberate, so that we are forced to develop new innovative technology as well as overhaul our existing energy network." The city already relies on a handful of wind turbines that produce electricity, but another 150-200 are needed to help the city reach its goal of being carbon neutral.
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Tarjei Haaland takes participants to a power plant which uses half natural gas and half coal to generate power.
There are some obstacles that city officials are struggling to overcome. The federal government recently passed a law overturning a ban on building new coal-fired power plants. Tarjei Haaland, Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner, says that this allows some power plants which use more expensive natural gas or biomass (burning straw) to switch to cheaper coal. "Moving towards coal is a step backwards; we need to be moving towards developing cleaner electricity through natural gas and renewable energy," he says. Denmark imports all of its coal and on average more than four kilograms of coal is burnt per day per Dane. Mr Haaland says the rest of Denmark must follow Copenhagen's lead and reduce its carbon emissions.
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The turbines have been built in a slight curve with more than three kilometres between the first and last.
We travel on a small ship towards 20 wind turbines built in 2000, which provide four per cent of Copenhagen's electricity needs. The site of the windfarm is Middlegrunden, an area at sea near the city's port. The turbines were built by the Middlegrundens Windpower Cooperative, which was established to reduce the amount of emissions produced by Copenhagen. It is a joint project, and half of the turbines are owned by the cooperative, the other half owned by Dong Energy. More than 8600 people invested in the ten cooperative-owned turbines and each holds an average of five shares which represent an amount of energy produced by the wind farm. Greenpeace has bought ten shares to cover the equivalent of the amount of electricity its office produces each year.
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Each turbine is 64 metres in height and the rotor has a diameter of 76 metres.
The sound of the massive rotor spinning can only be heard when we anchor our boat directly underneath the first turbine. While they look like large structures from far away, a clear understanding of their colossal size can only be gained up-close. Stefan Naef, a spokesman for Middlegrundens Wind Power Cooperative, tells us that the group is exceptionally transparent about how it operates. "If you look at other power companies, they are very secretive and make little information public," he says. "But we are very open about what we do and you can even see our daily energy production on our website." The cooperative is looking at other ways to build more wind farms and further reduce Copenhagen's reliance on coal.

For more information, see:
 Greenpeace Denmark:www.greenpeace.org/denmark/nyt-hjem
Middelgrundens Wind Power Cooperative: http://www.middelgrunden.dk/middelgrunden/?q=en