Who should own the nearshore wind turbines? A case study of the Wind & Welfare project

This report examines the possibility for non-profit organisations to participate in tenders for nearshore wind turbines in Denmark under the current frame-work conditions in the area. The point of departure is a case study of the non-profit organisation Wind People’s attempt to participate with a popular project in the Danish tender for 350 MW nearshore wind turbines. A series of in-depth interviews have been carried out with Wind People’s staff in order to make an in-depth analysis of their actions and experiences of entering into the market for nearshore wind turbines. The report concludes that it is not possible for non-profit organisations to participate with popular projects in connection with tenders for nearshore wind turbines in Denmark under the current framework conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to make a modification of the framework conditions. In itself, this is not sufficient to pave the way for non-profit organisations to be able to enter the market, however, as the study shows that the established actors in the market also have a large influence on who is allowed to enter the market. The results of the report are a number of recommendations to the Danish politicians and the Danish Energy Agency aimed at measures that can help to ensure broader competition at future tenders for offshore wind turbines in Denmark. In preparation for tender conditions in connection with tenders, it is for in-stance recommended that an analysis is conducted on how the various groups of stakeholders are organised in order to be able to prepare appropriate pre-qualification requirements. Furthermore, a number of recommendations have been prepared for non-profit organisations that wish to participate in future tenders in Denmark. One of the recommendations is that the non-profit organisations should activate their academic professional network to pull the strings and get in touch with relevant persons and actors when organising a tender or a project.