The Remarkable Story of Samsø

In 1997, Samsø won a government competition to become a model renewable energy community. Now, 100 per cent of its electricity comes from wind power amongst other renewable sources of energy. Here, Arjun Wadhwa and Juhi Mendiratta take us through the extraordinary and remarkable story of Samsø Island and its inhabitants (known as Samsings), who have set an exemplary example before the world by being completely powered by renewable energy.

- Arjun Wadhwa and Juhi Mendiratta

Chances are that you have never heard of the Samsings. They are a quiet folk, living on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere. They used to be famous in Europe for their potatoes, which would fetch high prices and were considered quite the delicacy. Restaurateurs who would land the first few batches of the new harvest would boast to their occasional tourists that their life is incomplete if they had not tasted a Samsø potato. Those same restaurants are now seeing a massive rise in tourism as the world’s elite head to Samsø by the thousands, to see that little Danish island that created history and has become a source of inspiration the world over by becoming the world’s first place to be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.

The Incredible Renewable Energy Initiative

With only 4,000 inhabitants spread over an area of 112 m2, the achievements of the Samsings seem even more enormous. As enormous perhaps, as the 21 large wind turbines that dot the area around the island, that allow its 22 villages not only to be self-sufficient, but also generate revenue by selling the extra power generated, to other municipalities in Denmark. In fact, as amazing as the scheme is, it is actually the federal government that should be congratulated for the initiative. As far back as 1997, the Danish government set up a competition for local communities to be the first to be powered 100 per cent by renewable energy. Samsø took up the challenge using a very Danish tradition. As the government required an equal amount of effort and investment from the people, the citizens of Samsø pitched in, making most of its people investors in the giant turbines that power their homes.