Denmark's Fuel is in the Wind

Project Better Place will use excess energy created by wind turbines to power an electric-car grid in Denmark. Renault will provide vehicles like the one pictured here for the initiative, set to kick off in 2011.

The grid, expected to be ready by 2011, will be operated by Project Better Place, an initiative by Israeli-American entrepreneur Shai Agassi, using excess power from Dong Energy's wind turbines.

A fleet of battery-driven electrical vehicles will be introduced in Denmark after the recharging stations are built at parking lots and outside homes, Agassi said.

French car maker Renault will provide the vehicles, and Japan's Nissan will make the lithium-ion batteries under a partnership with Project Better Place. Agassi said other car makers and battery producers will join the project later.

The batteries will allow a car to drive up to 90 miles before recharging, he said, adding that he expects the network to expand to other European countries soon.

''We're in discussion with 30 countries — Europe, America, and Asian nations,'' he told The Associated Press after a news conference in Copenhagen.

A similar network is being built in Israel.

When Israel's government endorsed the network in January, supporters hailed it as a bold step in the battle against global warming and energy dependency. Skeptics warned that much could still go wrong.

Dong Energy chief executive Anders Eldrup told reporters the grid will run on excess energy generated from wind turbines on windy days. Windmills make up around 20 percent of Denmark's electricity production.

''The extra energy we have, we can use in an intelligent way by putting it in batteries,'' Eldrup said.

However, on days with no wind the grid will need to use energy from Dong's coal-fired plants, he said, adding that it will still be more environmentally friendly than using gasoline.

''The cars' CO2 emission would still be half of what it is today with fossil fuels,'' Eldrup said.

Dong Energy operates some of the thousands of windmills that dot Denmark, a country of 5.4 million. The small Scandinavian nation began a national windmill program in 1979, under pressure from organizations demanding new sources of electricity that affect the environment less than conventional plants.