My name is Tauchi from Rera Tech Inc.. I joined Rera Tech Inc. last spring.Mutsu Ogawara Offshore Wind Observation Test SiteWhile being involved in the management of the company, I am also responsible for providing support to technical members.
I previously had the opportunity to visit the windmills of Kinderdijk-Elshout in the Netherlands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In this column, I would like to introduce the windmills at Kinderdijk and the history of windmills, which are the origin of wind power generation.
Kinderdijk, the city with the world's largest windmills
Kinderdijk is a Dutch island that is roughly the same size as Kyushu.1) It is located about 15 km southeast of the second city, Rotterdam. The largest group of windmills in the Netherlands, spread out along a canal, was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
1000 years ago, the area around Kinderdijk was a peatland surrounded by numerous rivers and the sea, so people only went there to hunt and fish when the water level was low. Later, settlers began to live in the sand dunes and built dikes, but it is said that groundwater and rainwater had to be pumped into the rivers periodically to protect the lowlands from flooding.
In the 13th century, the local community formed a water committee, which introduced 20 windmills to pump water when the water level rose and to return it to the lowland waterways during droughts. Today, 19 windmills still function in the same way as they did back then.
In addition to the windmills, pumping stations have also been built to manage the water area. The Wisboom pumping station, established in 1868, was originally powered by a steam engine. Today, a new computer-controlled, electrically-driven pumping station has the pumping capacity of 24 windmills and regulates the water level in the Kinderdijk area.2)
Figure 1: A view of Kinderdijk - Windmills set up along the canal
Source: Netherlands Tourist Board website3)
A visit in December when the misty landscape was a striking sight
Figure 2. Windmills reflected on the surface of the adjacent canal
I visited Kinderdijk on a cold day in December. There was a thick fog around Kinderdijk that day, so it was impossible to see more than a few meters ahead. Therefore, I was not able to get a full view of the windmills, but I was able to see them floating on the surface of the canal, which was a very fantastical sight.
There is not much difference in elevation between the land where people live and the canal that runs nearby, and water is pumped up from the canal where the water level is high and then discharged into another canal where the water level is low. I realized that windmills still play an important part in people's lives today.
Figure 3 (left) A close-up photo of a wind turbine and Figure 4 (right) A signpost to the wind turbines
In Japan, waterwheels have been more familiar than windmills for a long time, but according to ancient records from Egypt and other countries, windmills have been in use for over 3000 years. Documents from France and England report that windmills for the purposes of irrigation and water pumping were used from around 1100 AD.
The first windmill for grinding grain in the Netherlands is also said to have been built in 1439.
In the late 19th century, the Danish P. Lacourt, who is considered the founder of wind power generation, developed high-speed windmills for generating electricity.4)Considering this historical background, it is understandable that even today, many of the leading windmill manufacturers are from Denmark.
This time we will explain a little about the history of windmills.
To learn about Denmark's recent efforts in wind power generation, Relatec is conducting a seminar entitled "Learning from Denmark, a renewable energy pioneer: The future of offshore wind power generation in Japan (First part-Second part")" is now available in our article. Please take a look.
(Written by Tomoko Tanuchi)
As wind condition consultants, Rera Tech Inc. will carry out optimal wind condition surveys that combine "observation" and "estimation" for wind power generation.
Reference document
1) Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (Basic data on the Netherlands):https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/netherlands/data.html#section1
2) Kinderdijk homepage:https://kinderdijk.com/
3) Netherlands Tourist Board website:https://www.holland.com/global/tourism/get-inspired/current/unesco/the-windmills-of-kinderdijk.htm
4) Izumi Ushiyama, "The Story of Wind and Windmills: Old and New Clean Energy" (2008), Seizando Bookstore