“uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç

Following the successful operation since June 1992 of a single wind turbine, Örebro Energi, the utility of the city Örebro, is installing three more. The Vestas V29 turbines from Denmark will be installed on the same site, a few miles south of the city next to the Stockholm-Gothenburg highway. Örebro Energi will establish a wind co-operative and sell shares in the plant to its customers. Örebro lies in inland Sweden, between Stockholm and Oslo, but the landscape is so flat the winds are reasonably good. Expected production, though, is no more than half of what a similar turbine would produce on a coastal site, on Öland or at Gothenburg. Utility instigated co-operatives were pioneered by Göteborg Energi some two years ago and the members buy shares of 1000 kWh a year. The turbines at Örebro will produce some 300,000 kWh/year and each turbine will be divided into 300 shares, sold for SEK 4300 each, giving the same annual return as the Göteborg shares. Offering customers green energy is part of the local Agenda 21 for Örebro, one of the authorities in Sweden making serious efforts to create "ecological communities."