Samso, the self-sufficient island that could
Monday, November 30th, 2009
Picture is from the Wikimedia Commons
The web site Power and Energy recently featured a story on Samso, a little green island paradise in Denmark that completely self-sufficient and sustainable. Not only is this island self-sufficient, it generates profit by merely existing. This is bittersweet. Bitter in that it takes a significant amount of one kind of green to tackle (and raise interest) the larger green issues. Sweet in that once these remedies (wind power in this case) are given a chance, they can generate both kinds of green. It is important to mention that a project like this one cost several million euros, giving critics a quick conclusion that such a project would be unrealistic on a larger scale. While it may be true that Samso is something of a paradisaical dream world, it’s also true that it exhibits profitable projects that generate revenue. In the article, a farmer owns some of the wind turbines that power the island. Though he paid 1.2 million euro for his land, he claims to earn 3,000 euro each day from his windmills alone. This cost/value ratio of establishing private green energy on a wider scale could spark an economic boon to a country or individual seeking to climb out of the economic pits, while being sustainable, possibly creating green jobs and better yet saving the planet from becoming a polluted, resource-drained wasteland.
But back on to Samso. It just looks cool. Check out the video too.
