Danish machine shops (smedmesters or blacksmiths in Danish), activists, and entrepreneurs were the foundation of the early Danish wind industry and, thus, modern wind power.

So it was no surprise to me that when the Danish government decided to subsidize household-size wind turbines (hustandmølle in Danish) in the 2000s that new small manufacturers sprang up to supply the market. And it was no surprise that this would occur in the cradle of Danish wind experimentation—North Jutland.

In the fall of 2012, we visited our old friend Preben Maegaard at the Folkecenter for Renewable Energy and on the route passed several Thy Møllen in operation.

The turbine is of classic Danish design: three blades, upwind, active yaw, and of course pitchable blade tips for overspeed protection. Nothing fancy, just your work-a-day windmill.

The 6-meter diameter turbine intercepts 40 square meters and is rated at 6 kW. Preben reports that one turbine on the windy west coast of Jutland generated 30,000 kWh in one year and several others are producing 20,000 kWh per year on average.

Through the spring of 2013 they have installed 165 Thy Møllen in Denmark.