By Søren Bjørn-Hansen

“We say down here that it only winds here five days a year. The rest of the days it storms," ​​says Ole Martinussen with a laugh. He is chairman of the Gedser town guild and one of the people behind an extremely ambitious energy project that the citizens of the area have come up with themselves.

Ole loses his eyes in the wind from the southwest and continues:

"That is why Rødsand 1 and 2 are located here. There are 140 turbines in the two wind fields. So it's not because we're not used to seeing wind turbines here. Over there we have them in the sunset, and here we will have them in the sunrise. And we have no problem with that," says Ole Martinussen.

Denmark desperately needs green energy. Not only electricity in the sockets, but also heat and special fuel we must have converted.

The citizens of Gedser would like to be part of that change. They want to build a climate island that must kill two birds with one stone: It must supply green energy, ship fuel and food − and help save their town and local area from a threatening depopulation and creeping village death.

Gedser dreams big. And they don't have time to wait for the politicians.

A pioneering spirit was born

Four kilometers north of Gedser, on an invisible hilltop, something happened in 1957 that was a bit of a world sensation. The first modern wind turbine was erected here, a wind turbine that was supposed to produce electricity, mind you.

At the time, the Gedser mill, as it was called, was the world's largest wind turbine. Today it is considered the mother of all modern wind turbines and was a true pioneer with the three blades that are so well known today. That mill was the beginning of a bit of a wind adventure at the southern tip of Denmark. And today, the pioneering spirit still blows through Gedser.

"Afterwards, we were also pioneers with the first offshore wind farms Rødsand 1 and 2. So why not continue in that vein?" asks Ole Martinussen.

He works daily at the rescue station in Gedser. In the pocket of his reflective windbreaker is the emergency phone. If it rings, he must go and help those in distress at sea. But he also spends a lot of time on his function as chairman of the town guild and especially on the ambitious plans for what the locals call a climate island.

“This is where it should lie. Out there where you can see the sailing ship," he says, pointing to the south beyond the cliff at Sydstenen, which is the southernmost point of Denmark, Scandinavia and the Nordics. During the Cold War, a listening and radar station was located here that monitored Warsaw Pact ships. Today, the buildings have been converted into a visitor centre.

"It all started with us talking about what we had to do to create jobs down here," says Ole Martinussen, looking towards the town of Gedser, a few kilometers to the north.

According to Ole Martinussen, Gedser is quietly becoming depopulated. The homes are sold as flexible homes. And apart from Brugsen, which the residents would very much like to keep, the Scandlines ferries that sail to Rostock in Germany, and then the rescue station, it is limited how many jobs there are in the area. He emphasizes that the city guild does not consist of green activists, but they felt they had to do something.

“We started by talking about more wind turbines. But then I said I didn't just want windmills. We have lots of wind turbines, and we have wind turbines that stand idle when there is overproduction. There is no reason to line up more so that they can also stand still. And then the idea of ​​a PtX plant began to take shape, and then the ball just started rolling," says Ole Martinussen.

Klima-ø must store the wind

The idea that Ole Martinussen is talking about is an enormously ambitious project that combines almost all the technologies that are part of the green transition.

The project has grown directly out of the mind of Ole Martinussen and the rest of the Gedser town guild and, with the help of the architectural firm By&Landskab, has become a fully-fledged multi-functional project that starts with the establishment of an artificial island off Gedser Odde. The question now is how the plans can become reality.

Part of the plan is to establish the island by damming the sea, something Lolland-Falster has a tradition of when it comes to running sheep and growing carrots and potatoes. But instead of root vegetables, the idea is to put a PtX plant on the island – a plant that will initially produce green ship fuel. The power there must come from an offshore wind farm of a whopping 750 MW, based on 15 MW turbines - the latest addition to the stock that the Gedser turbine started.

"We have held public meetings where we have explained what PtX is. The citizens have been given material around, so they could sit and read about it themselves. And they can see that this is where the jobs are. Because it's not on the wind turbines," says Ole Martinussen.

PtX means "Power to X" and, in short, is about storing surplus power from e.g. wind turbines. The X represents what the current is converted into. It is most often in the form of liquid fuel such as hydrogen, methanol or something else entirely. In this way, the turbines can always run – regardless of whether the electricity is needed – because the surplus is stored as liquid energy.

Researcher: Energy is only green if it can be used locally

The idea of ​​the citizens of Gedser to start from PtX is not stupid at all, assesses energy researcher Gorm Bruun Andresen. Lolland-Falster already has some major challenges in getting rid of the green power that the wind farms produce.

“I think this makes good sense. But only because they need to be able to use the electricity locally. So thinking about green production together with green consumption goes well together," he says.

The problem is that good enough transmission lines have not been established between Lolland-Falster and the rest of the electricity grid, something that will only be fixed in 10 years.

"However, they will have to build both the island, the PtX plant and the turbines at the same time. Because if they build the turbines first, they can't get rid of the electricity," says Gorm Bruun Andresen.

If Gedser manages that part, Gorm Bruun Andresen sees it as an obvious project. Also more affordable than other energy island plans.

"It seems more affordable to build an island here than in the North Sea, for example," he says and continues: "And I think it is important that we get the local element into the green transition. We have an opportunity to democratize our energy supply," says Gorm Bruun Andresen. He looks forward to following the climate island's development and how they will make all the elements play together.

A range of good ideas

Ole Martinussen is optimistic about the future. He bursts with ideas and thoughts about how technologies can benefit society. First and foremost in the form of marine fuel produced from green hydrogen and CO2, which is combined into methanol.

"Maersk has ordered eight container ships that will sail in the Baltic Sea region. Why shouldn't we ensure that the blue fleet sails on the green methanol produced here in Gedser? They can actually refuel right out here," he says.

However, the plans for the climate island do not stop here. In addition to offshore wind turbines and PtX, the citizens will lead the main road out to the climate island, so that the ferry port can also be moved. It saves an enormous amount of time on the crossing because you avoid a narrow channel. They will also establish fish ponds, which will be covered by solar cells. They must utilize access to clean oxygen and waste heat. The farms must supply biomass to a biogas plant, which must supply the CO2 needed in methanol production.

The ideas spread like wildfire and now also include green algae, horticulture, ammonia production, district heating connection and much more.

At the collaboration partner By&Landskab, project manager Elise Sydendal is very enthusiastic about the citizens' desire for ideas.

"It's just great that the citizens have such big thoughts. We feel privileged to be able to work with them and think it's cool to stand with them in this. If a town like Gedser's development is to be turned around, something really has to happen. Citizens know this well. Our task is to give the citizens' dreams professional content," she says.

The plans have been checked by professionals in various fields. Now the focus is firmly on making the dreams concrete. It requires an investment of three to four billion to realize the climate island. However, By&Landskab already has several interested investors, explains Elise Sydendal. However, she cannot reveal exactly who it is.

“What we need now is not money. We need the state to come up with a national plan directive. We agree with the municipality and are now ready to take the step to the national stage," she says.

The plans have already attracted the attention of several high-profile parliamentary politicians – even ministers. However, Elise Sydendal does not want to go out with who exactly it is. But she expects the climate island to be realized soon. Otherwise, it cannot help Denmark achieve the objectives of CO2 neutrality by 2050 either.

"The citizens also need it to go fast if it is to help them and the city's development. At least we are ready now," says Elise Sydendal.

We don't have a tradition of the citizen-driven

Ole Martinussen hopes that more people will be inspired by Gedser's great arm movements.

"Think outside the box and don't let yourself be limited. Think longer. Think big. What is science fiction today is contemporary tomorrow," he says and continues with good advice for the country's politicians:

“Now just get started. Roughly speaking. The citizens down here say. Why is there so much talk?”

Elise Sydendal believes the citizens of Gedser are right that we will have to rethink this kind of project. 

"It is a fundamental error in the green transition that there is a long distance from idea to action. We don't have a tradition of the citizen-driven. And that's a real shame. It must be a major part of the changeover. It will make it more believable and make it faster. Therefore, our project is also a good example. A large green project where the citizens themselves are co-creators.”

Ole Martinussen agrees.

"Usually these projects are met with enormous opposition from citizens. But we have turned it upside down. We run a bottom-up approach instead of a top-down approach. It may well be a little more difficult in the beginning. But I think it is much easier in the decision-making phase," he says and continues:

"We the locals know that this is necessary. We have no interest in destroying our own local area. We want to take care of our nature. People come here because of the nature. We will not change that. This is what you call a no-brainer in good Danish.”

Klima-ø uses the energy where it is produced

The citizens of Gedser's idea of ​​a climate island is essentially about being able to use the green energy produced by wind and sun where it is produced. The whole basic idea behind it is that you want to avoid overproduction of green energy, so the wind turbines have to stop, even if the wind blows. 

By using the green energy locally to produce fuel such as hydrogen or methanol and thus store the energy for the days when the wind does not blow. It is the cornerstone of the PtX technology.

In this way, Gedser's climate island does not have to wait for Energinet to upgrade the transmission lines to Lolland-Falster. Something that will happen in 10 years at the earliest. 

In addition to producing green marine fuel, the citizens of Gedser also want their climate island to help with other problems in the green transition. For example, by producing sustainable fish in pond farming – also called PtF or Power to Food. 

In the long term, the hope is also that on the climate island, green electricity can be converted into feed for crustaceans, protein-rich algae for use in food supplements, ammonia for fertilizer and even green jet fuel.

How PtX works

PtX has gradually become a well-known term in the Danish restructuring debate. But what does it actually cover? 

PtX stands for "Power to X", i.e. energy for X, where X can be replaced with a wide range of things. It can be energy for ammonia, energy for chemicals, energy for gas – eg hydrogen or methane – it can be energy for food or energy for heat. 

What all the examples have in common is that they utilize surplus electricity produced by CO2-neutral sources to store that energy in other media. 

Precisely this technology is the key for Gedser's climate island and other energy islands of the same type – for example the planned energy islands in the North Sea and on Bornholm, because it is often expensive to run long high-voltage cables.

The most common form of PtX is a version where green surplus power is used to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis. The hydrogen can then be stored alone and converted back into electricity – albeit with energy waste in both processes – or it can be combined with CO2 to make, for example, methanol or with nitrogen to make ammonia. 

In this way, an "intermittent" or sporadic energy source such as wind can become a stable energy source. 

Søren Bjørn-Hansen is a journalist and part of the journalist community Klimajournalisterne.

This article is part of our project 'Yes in my backyard', where we focus on how people help drive the green transition in their local communities.