By Guest blogger Stina Kindberg Piironen, Vattenfall Wind Power

Nearly 500 people braved the weather to experience Vattenfall’s Lillgrund Offshore Wind Farm from close-by on one of the twelve trips organised for Global Wind Day.

Another few hundred visitors stayed onshore and took part in an energy quiz, watched the Lillgrund movie and discussed energy efficiency with Vattenfall’s own energy expert in an orange marquee set up for the occasion on the quayside. Many also signed for a newsletter and went home with an energy-saving light.

The children were happy with their spinning paper windmills, and some of them also got a beach ball or a torch keyring with the Global Wind Day brand. Many interesting wind power-related discussions also took place answering questions such as: how much does a turbine’s foundation weigh? And, how much electricity is needed for an old refrigerator?

The second anniversary of the official opening of Lillgrund Offshore Wind Farm coincided with the Global Wind Day, a day when wind power producers are encouraged to open their wind farms to the public, to promote the benefits of wind energy and highlight the local support that is needed. Vattenfall’s Lillgrund Offshore Wind Farm is situated in the Öresund strait in Swedish waters between Sweden and Denmark.

EWEA’s campaign to get every turbine in Europe adopted is racing ahead with more than 800 turbines now adopted. A record 142 turbines have been adopted in one of wind energy’s pioneering countries – Spain, while another of Europe’s wind energy giants – Denmark – trails far behind with just 20 adoptions.

No other countries have yet reached the 100 turbine mark, but the UK is not too far off with a total of 89 turbines adopted.

The northern-most turbines to be adopted are on the Faroe Islands, while a handful of turbines have been adopted in southern Europe, in regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

The voting contest is also hoting up with one turbine in Belgium receiving a massive 121 votes. This turbine in Lanaken, eastern Belgium, produces 4,600 MW of electricity, saving 2,631 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Have you adopted a turbine yet? Click here to see more.