Darwind
The creation of Darwind is an ultimate attempt to consolidate available knowledge on wind turbine technology in the Netherlands. The Netherlands has had several pioneers in this field including Henk Lagerwey. Henk Lagerwey’s company has developed many reliable turbines. Utilising direct drive technology, he was one of the first to develop low-maintenance wind turbines. As a pioneer he encountered many difficulties. Launching such a technology is a very capital intensive process.
In other countries, companies have received government funding, leading to the development of a very successful industry with high employment (Germany, Denmark and Spain). Darwind is trying, together with investment funds, to turn our combined specialist knowledge into a Dutch industry. Teamwork Technology was the initiator of the Darwind project and developed its initial business goals and attracted startup capital.
This initiative, supported by the NOM (Noord-Hollandse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij) and the province of North Holland (Noord-Holland), resulted in the formation of a company to pursue the goals of Darwind. Econcern took over the company, only to dissolve it when Econcern went into bankruptcy. The company has now been relaunched with the involvement of Chinese shareholders. Again we see that while the Netherlands holds knowledge and expertise on wind energy, it is a missed opportunity for the Dutch that this has required external involvement in bringing it to market.
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