Construction of world's tallest wind turbine starts in German lignite region

Work has begun on the construction of the world’s highest wind turbine in the eastern German lignite region Lusatia, reports technology website heise online. The foundation stone was laid last week in Schipkau in the state of Brandenburg and operations are scheduled to start next summer. The planned height of the turbine is 364 metres including blades, meaning the windmill will be almost exactly the same height as Berlin’s iconic TV tower, reports regional broadcaster MDR.

The commissioning company Beventum and project developer Gicon measured high altitude wind speeds with a 300-metre-high measuring tower at the site, according to MDR. The companies said the height will increase wind energy yield by 40 percent, which equates to twice as much electricity yield with the same rotor diameter.

“At this altitude, the wind not only has higher average speed, but also a wider distribution, which leads to significantly more full-load hours for wind turbines,” said Gicon founder Jochen Großmann. He said conditions are comparable to offshore wind turbines, but with onshore operating conditions. “This means that the costs for construction and maintenance are significantly lower, which has a positive effect on profitability,” Großmann said. High-altitude wind turbines could also be used to develop so-called low-wind regions, where it has not been possible to utilise wind energy economically to date, he said.

The wind turbine will feature a novel design involving a lattice structure with four legs, reminiscent of the Eiffel tower in Paris, as well as power poles. The turbine will be attached to a movable inner tower, which will allow it to be lifted to a height of 300 metres – a height out of reach for cranes.

There was no opposition against the project from local residents, who were involved from the outset, Gicon said. The new turbine does not require any additional space, because it will be built between existing wind turbines. “The towers are so high that the rotors do not overlap and take the wind away from each other,” Großmann said. Gicon has said in the past that high altitude wind turbines would allow renewable energy production on three levels: Solar panels on the ground, conventional wind turbines, and a layer of high altitude turbines on top.