By Helene Cheret

With a small flock of sheep in heels, Hans Christian Jørgensen trots across the frozen ground. Here in the month of June, the drought is at its peak, but the yield of this particular piece of land does not suffer from the strong sun, on the contrary. For these bleating sheep graze under and around a 20.000 square meter solar plant. The animals keep the vegetation down a little so that the solar cells do not become overgrown, explains Hans Christian Jørgensen. He is clearly proud to show this place off. But it is not his own solar cells. "It is our,” he emphasizes several times.

"Recently, one of my acquaintances from the city told me that it was a pity that the solar cells were so far away. It would be better if they were close by, so that you could show off what we have put in place here in Brenderup," he says and continues: "That says a lot about what it is about for us: pride in create something together.”

The solar plant is located six kilometers outside the town of Brenderup, which lies midway between Middelfart and Odense. I have come here because the residents of Brenderup have themselves established a jointly owned solar plant. In the media we hear a lot about angry citizens opposing plans for new wind turbines and solar farms around the country, but in this local community it seems the opposite is the case. How can this be and what happened? Hans Christian Jørgensen knows this, because he was involved from the start.

"Everyone knows I took the yellow note"

Inside the town opposite the local utility, we sit down at some benches in an open, dry place. Here there should actually have been a wild flower field in full bloom, but the drought prevented it this year. A number of huts for pop-up stalls are scattered with tables and benches in between. They have named the place Brenderup Fælled with the old word fælled in mind – a common grazing area that the town was supposed to share, a place to meet.

The idea for the solar system arose at a citizens' meeting in the sports hall in March 2018. Hans Christian Jørgensen, who is on the local committee and calls himself one of the city's usual thunder shield soldiers, who always gets involved and cannot stand still, helped organize it. They had chosen sustainability as the theme for the evening, and the local fisherman had provided "salmon feeders and hand bathers," which was possibly one of the reasons why 250 people showed up out of 1700 inhabitants, says Hans Christian Jørgensen, who himself has lived in the city since 2007 with his wife and two children.

"We really had no idea what sustainability was. It was a word we all had to learn to spell. But we wanted to bring people together on the subject and think it could be cool if something happened. So we invited someone from Middelfart Municipality to give a presentation on sustainability. Then everyone else could come up with ideas, which were written down on yellow notes on the wall. And on one of them there was a solar park.”

There was something about the idea that Hans Christian Jørgensen and some of the other citizens found interesting. So they took the note and from then on captured the table. That's how he thinks about it today.

"At that meeting, approximately 250 people had sat and clapped each other and said that we want something with the green transition. Everyone goes home talking to one or two. And then suddenly we have half the town's support. When I go to Brugsen, the town's local watering hole, people ask how things are going with the solar cells. Then you stand there. Everyone knows I took that note, and it obliges. And then you sit in the scissors − in a good way.”

Hans Christian Jørgensen and a few others started with the technical and practical aspects. Energinet, which at the time administered a support scheme for e.g. solar projects, had the deadline for an application round in November 2018. The first step was to find a place for the solar system. They contacted the municipality, which found a piece of unused land that had been zoned for business. Next, the Danish Energy Agency demanded a bank guarantee of DKK 250.000, and Middelfart Bank agreed to this. Then everything was ready. They called the project Sol over Brenderup, sent off the application, and after a week they got the message. Sol over Brenderup and six other projects had received the grant. It was ten øre per kilowatt produced for twenty years, which was expected to amount to DKK 2,2 million.

At the next citizens' meeting in November 2018, the people behind the project could tell the good news about the grant from the Danish Energy Agency.

"The approximately 140 people who turned up gave us their full support. We had calculated that we could make green electricity equivalent to a third of the city's electricity consumption. That's what drove us. It had nothing to do with wanting to get cheaper energy prices, because that was not possible then. So the phrase, what can I gain from this, I didn't hear at any point. It was about what we could do as a local community to participate in the green transition," he says.

Buy a public share

The entire project cost DKK 8 million, part of which was to be covered by publicly owned shares. They decided to hire a company to handle and manage the project so they wouldn't have to shoulder that responsibility themselves, especially with so much money involved. It bought the land from the municipality for DKK 1,5 million with a 30-year right of repurchase. With that agreement, the bank agreed to lend them the DKK 1,5 million, without them having to come up with a deposit themselves. Next, 2,4 million was needed. in equity, and for that they created public shares at DKK 10.000 each. Everyone within Brenderup Parish could buy. The old parish boundaries proved practical for that purpose.

"We lined up at Brugsen four Saturdays in a row and said: Sun over Brenderup - buy a share. We didn't have to explain what it was about after the many citizen meetings and talks. Many of the older residents said: We'll just have four of them there. Because then we have for our grandchildren, for Christmas presents and for good history's sake. And no one asked me what the return was, even though it is an investment. It was for the sake of the good cause and the community. So it was a great experience. We sold for almost a small million DKK here in the city," says Hans Christian Jørgensen.

Next, the company managing the project found an investor. It was a machine factory that wants to strengthen its green profile. And then all the money was found. The facility was built, and on December 23 of the same year, they turned on the power to the facility.

"There is nothing cooler than when a local community gets a wild idea that succeeds. You become somewhat invincible, and suddenly there are no limits to what else you can do. At the same time, we also gained a lot of respect within the municipality. Middelfart Municipality also won the National Association of Municipalities Climate Prize in 2022, and that was partly because of us. And in addition, there has also turned out to be a good return on the solar shares, which we have chosen to pay off debt with," he says.

Keeps the city going

In the square, a couple of young people sit down on one of the benches next to it. Hans Christian Jørgensen helped to ensure that the square here became a common area rather than housing, which was otherwise the plan. He talks about how the square is filled with people every year when the Christmas tree is lit at the end of November, about the local kiosk that organizes flea markets on Sundays, and about the fact that they themselves want to build a community center on the square for, among other things, the city's seniors and a moped workshop, so that the young people can be there rather than hanging out on the street corner.

According to him, community and projects like Sol over Brenderup are crucial for the city and ultimately for the city's future.

“Communities help keep our village going. We have a doctor's office, two shopping facilities, two schools, two kindergartens and a sea of ​​electricians and mechanics. All this means that you can sell your house and then new people can also move here. If the community does not support us so that we can have both schools and shopping opportunities, then we have cut the branch and are heading down the hole. People gradually understand what community means.” 

It seems that the certainty and concern for the city's survival in the future contributed to the fact that the solar plant in Brenderup is now publicly owned. Many of the solar installations and wind farms that are planned today are owned and built by energy developers in collaboration with a farmer and a municipality. And the project in Brenderup could also have taken a different turn during the process and looked different today. Because when the people in Brenderup had been notified of the grant from the Danish Energy Agency, Hans Christian Jørgensen's phone started ringing.

"The big energy developers keep an eye on who gets subsidies. Within a week I had three to four calls from companies congratulating me and saying; We will fix it for you. We held a meeting with them, and it turned out that they wanted to take over the project, pay the expenses we had incurred until then, and give us money for new swings and sandboxes in the city," he says and continues:

"But then the local idea smokes." We said no thanks to all of them. This was supposed to be a publicly owned project so that we could maintain our affiliation with it. In that way, it differs from the other larger projects. Ours came from below.”

Consider the people who have to live in it

Sol over Brenderup was established on a commercial plot that was empty, and does not immediately appear to spoil anyone's view. According to Hans Christian Jørgensen, there have been no complaints about the project. But here in North Funen, other and larger solar parks are being planned, which energy developers and farmers are working together to establish. And that creates frustration.

Hans Christian Jørgensen is himself an agricultural economist and works in a company that advises farmers on investments. He can easily see that the solar cell and wind turbine projects are good business for the farmers and the energy companies. But something needs to change if the resistance that is delaying plans for the roll-out of renewable energy is to be overcome. He has been to a number of citizen meetings, where the atmosphere was very strained from the start.

"I understand very well that people are opposed to the big projects. After all, we all have to help secure renewable energy, because it is critical infrastructure. But why do so few companies get all the profits? Who takes into account the people who have to live between the solar cells and the wind turbines?”

In his opinion, the resistance is also due to other things. The processes are not transparent, and plans are made without people being involved. For the first citizen meetings, things have therefore already gone wrong.

"When you move out here, you choose to live in a cultural landscape where you don't expect there to be industry. In the assembly hall, maybe 25 people who are affected by the project sit with folded arms and say; it may well be your land, but it is my view, and now I can only sell my property for half or a third. And then a debate starts that is very little professional and constructive and far from solutions.”

The municipalities must drive the green transition, but they must also be there for the sake of the citizens, believes Hans Christian Jørgensen. It makes a big difference if the municipalities themselves support the citizens from the start and make it clear, when they make tenders for the projects, that part of the shares may very well be publicly owned. This is done, for example, by Tønder and Lemvig Municipality.

"Then you are much longer when you meet for the first citizens' meeting. Because if people can profit from it, it compensates for the loss in house prices. Of course, we will all have to take responsibility for the transition. It is of no use to say that the state and the municipality arrange it, because we pay our taxes. Our responsibility out in the countryside can be to make room on some terms that we can live in. And if you as a citizen do nothing, don't complain. We also tend to do that at home; to do nothing and complain.”

It was hell this winter

The next big challenge in Brenderup is the heat – that in the radiators. Because like many others in the country, the inhabitants were also affected by the high energy prices this winter. Most people in the city have gas to heat their house or, like Hans Christian Jørgensen, a pellet stove. The message from the local district heating company is that they can only come out to Brenderup in 2026/27 and inquire about how many people want district heating. It cannot happen earlier because other towns closer to Middelfart must be connected to the power grid first. Establishment of district heating can only happen if 80 percent of the city says yes.

"It was hell this winter with the high energy prices. So I am sure that in 20 over 2026 percent of the city will have installed a heat pump or chosen something else. And what about the rest of the inhabitants? So now we are working on making a thermonet out here - ie. again do it yourself. So we rumble along and have support for that. But who will run it? We have to get rid of the black gas by 2030, so it is a joint task. Will the local district heating company manage it? Does the municipality help? Should it be geothermal heating, deep drilling, waste heat, can we get municipal credit? And the whole city must be covered with pipes. Making a solar park is somewhat simpler.”

Again, in his opinion, it is about thinking ahead.

"Last winter, nobody wanted to buy a house out here in this gas area. So it's again about how we keep the city top-trimmed for the society we live in, so we don't end up as a desert city.”

This article is part of a series about people who themselves set up solar cells, wind turbines and other green projects in their local communities. Read more about our project 'Yes in my backyard' below.

Sun over Brenderup

The solar plant Sol over Brenderup was fully established on 23 December 2020. It is citizen-operated. Citizens from Brenderup set up a limited company with a board of directors, and where citizens of Brenderup could buy a public share for DKK 10.000. The facility is 20.000 m2, which corresponds to 1½ football pitches. The solar cells produce 1 MW per year of electricity, which corresponds to a third of Brenderup's energy needs.

They sell half of the electricity to the Danish energy company OK, which is owned by customers and dealers, and is sold to the free electricity market.

The operation of the solar plant is administered by the investment association DIFKO, which takes care of operations and the handling of finances and shares.

The citizens of Brenderup have bought the land from Middelfart Municipality with a right of repurchase. The land is zoned for business and is located near Asperup on North Funen, six kilometers from Brenderup.

Economy

The project sum is DKK 8 million. DKK, of which 2,4 million DKK in equity, where approx. 1 million is distributed among shares owned by local citizens in Brenderup. The rest, the 5,6 million DKK is loan-financed from the bank, including DKK 1,5 million. DKK for the purchase of the land. They receive an ongoing subsidy from a support scheme which was once administered by Energinet. It is ten øre per kilowatt produced for twenty years.

Hans Christian Jørgensen's advice to others who want to transform their communities:

• Remember, if we want to, we can
• Throw yourself into it
• Take hold of the municipality
• Visit others who have their own experiences. We visited Samsø Energy Academy, and it gave us the belief that it can be done.