Peter Hauge Madsen, Head of Department at DTU Wind Energy, Anders Bjarklev, President of DTU, and Lars Christensen, Head of Division at the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation cut the first sod together to mark also that the project is the result of close cooperation, investment, and foresight.

“It’s not going to be just a wind tunnel, but the best wind tunnel in the world,” says Peter Hauge Madsen.

In an international perspective, the wind tunnel will be unique because of its size, the fact that it will be possible to combine aerodynamic and noise measurements and, finally, because of the high air flow rates which can be achieved. For example, it will be possible to subject a wind turbine blade to wind speeds of up to 105 metres/second (378 km/h), which corresponds to three times hurricane-force winds. The wind will be created by a gigantic fan with a diameter of 4.7 metres. The test section will also be encapsulated in an anechoic space to avoid reflections and absorb noise.

- Download: White Paper on Wind Energy

Developing Risø Campus
For DTU, the project is also a strategic step.

“People all over the world know what DTU is—not least because of DTU Wind Energy,” says Anders Bjarklev. “There are high expectations of what you can achieve with industry for the benefit of society. This wind tunnel will take us even further. The investment in the new tunnel also shows that DTU wants to continue developing Risø Campus.”

The project is also being praised in the local community.

DTU Shows Enterprise
Joy Mogensen, Mayor of the Municipality of Roskilde, acknowledges that the municipality can learn a lot from DTU.

“DTU Wind Energy is world-leading within wind energy research. Every time you are challenged by outsiders, you raise the bar and your level of ambition. The ambition now is that the new wind tunnel will be the world’s best. Nothing less. Expressing yourself like this takes courage, requires luck and demands cooperation—and also quite a lot of persistence,” says Joy Mogensen.

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“As a society, we must learn from this. Sometimes we must also be bold enough as a nation to call ourselves the best in the world. It’s not often that we dare to do so. DTU on the other hand is prepared to. It gives us the inspiration we need in the Municipality of Roskilde to also act boldly. And it consolidates the status of Risø Campus as a strong research centre. Let us continue to aim a little higher.”

Source: DTU Wind Energy