Tvind wind turbine in Ulfborg

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Record-breaking wind turbine

By Keld Grinder-Hansen, Cand.mag., Ph.D. (18 stories)

In 1975, the Danish Tvind" schools built a wind turbine. It was back when the oil crises were raging in the 1970s and future energy supplies were a hot topic of conversation. The "Tvindkraft" wind turbine was built by students, volunteer teachers and pupils at the schools. In 1978, after three years' building work, the turbine finally began producing power - two megawatts. At 54 metres tall, it was the tallest wind turbine in the world. The project aimed to show that wind power is an alternative to fossil fuels and nuclear energy. The idea was also to supply the Tvind schools with low-cost, renewable energy. The wind turbine is still turning today with almost all its original components. Only the wings and wing bearings have been replaced. "

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The Tvind empire

Story written by Keld Grinder-Hansen

Time / Periode 1975

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The Tvind School Centre, in Ulfborg, West Jutland, was founded in the 1970s. Ulfborg housed Den Rejsende Højskole – the travelling folk high school", a free school for reception classes to 10th year classes, an international continuation boarding school for 14-18-year-olds and a teacher training college. The charismatic Mogens Amdi Petersen was Tvind's leader. Under him, the Tvind School Centre grew to include more than 40 institutions in Denmark alone. The schools were based on a society-oriented view of schooling that highlighted the link between theory and practice. The ideology was based on Maoism and solidarity with poverty-stricken third-world countries. The teachers employed donated their salaries to a joint fund that, combined with clothing collections, funded the organisation. Since the end of the 1990s, only a few of the Tvind schools have received State subsidies. Today, most Tvind activities take place outside Denmark. "