Introduction

Samsø is a 112 square kilometers island off the east coast of Denmark. Home to 4,300 residents, the island relies on renewable energy for 100% of its needs.  The island’s proposal won a Danish government competition and within ten years the community proved it could live entirely off renewable energy.

Objectives and target audience

In the late nineteen-nineties, the island’s inhabitants had a conventional attitude toward energy.  Most Samsingers heated their houses with oil, which was brought in on tankers. They used electricity imported from the mainland via cable, much of which was generated by burning coal. As a result, each Samsinger put into the atmosphere, on average, nearly eleven tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Then, quite deliberately, the residents of the island set about changing this. They formed energy coöperatives and organized seminars on wind power. They removed their furnaces and replaced them with heat pumps. By 2001, fossil-fuel use on Samsø had been cut in half. By 2003, instead of importing electricity, the island was exporting it, and by 2005 it was producing from renewable sources more energy than it was using.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

Financial Resources: without any direct subsidy from the Danish government, the islanders built a 50 million Euro energy system.  80% the capital was raised from local investors, relying only on Danish laws and regulations.
In the four years of construction, the total investment in RES and RUE has been 49 mill. €, 41 mill. € coming from local firms, private households and the municipality
Until 2002, a national program subsidised the installation of biomass heating, solar collectors and heat pump systems, an incentive that convinced many homeowners to replace their oil furnaces and electric panel heaters.
Partners Involved: Samso Energy Agency coordinated the RE development in cooperation with Samso Trade Organisation, Samso Farmers Organisation and Samso Municipality.

Process

The project began in 1998.
Eleven 1 MW wind turbines were erected in 1999-2000 that would make the island self-sufficient with electricity. The wind turbines are owned by a windmill cooperative and by individual owners.
Local public meetings and citizens groups worked to generate the broadest possible base of public support for these initiatives.
Houses outside the district heating districts were given several different options. They could requisition an energy appraisal of their house, a report which gave specific suggestions for conversion to renewable energy, as well as advice on how to conserve energy by improving house insulation and installing better windows and class A electrical appliances. Until 2002, a national program subsidised the installation of biomass heating, solar collectors and heat pump systems, an incentive that convinced many homeowners to replace their oil furnaces and electric panel heaters.
Several small-scale projects started after the energy island project in 1998. These investigated the viability of methane gas, disposal site gases and canola oil for vehicle transportation. During this same period, seven household windmills and three PV solar collectors systems were established.
The foundation work for the ten offshore wind turbines started in 2002 and the offshore wind park was the biggest project in the renewable energy implementation plan. These wind turbines were erected to compensate for the CO2 emissions from the transport sector and to match the energy consumption in this sector. Technical solutions are not yet available that can replace all the island vehicles.
The Samsø Energy Academy was built in 2006 and opened its doors for visitors in 2007.

Results

The dependency on energy-import has been reduced from 7.3 mill.€ per year to 4.1 mill.€.  The emission of CO2 is reduced by 140%.
The number of “technical tourists” is approx. 1,000 per year, visiting the Energy Academy to learn from their experience.
The island provides 70% of its heat with district heating plants. Gradually, islanders are increasingly using biodiesel for liquid fuels.
For electricity, islanders installed 15 new wind turbines.  The turbines on land are owned individually by local farmers.
To compensate for liquid fuels used in transportation, the islanders installed ten 2.3 MW wind turbines offshore, two of which are cooperatively owned by 450 shareholders.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges

During the brief summer months residents depend on the 50,000 visitors to the island. Traditional occupations for the remainder of the year, such as fishing, have been in steady decline. The move to renewables was considered essential for the “survival of the island.” The island and its year-round residents needed a new strategy.
Local public meetings and citizens groups worked to generate the broadest possible base of public support for these initiatives.