Energy transition innovation: Record-breaking wind turbine is launched in Lausitz

dpa | The world's tallest wind turbine will soon be turning in southern Brandenburg. According to the Dresden company Gicon, construction work on the gigantic tower, which will reach 365 meters, is almost complete. In the town of Schipkau in the Lusatia region, known as the coal region, the developers of the project want to set a record height. According to the Federal Wind Energy Association, it will be the world's largest wind turbine.

The completion of the construction was actually planned for Sunday. However, it was not possible to install the rotor blades due to strong winds. This will now follow next week, as the company explained in Dresden.

The wind turbine that was raised in an existing wind farm is considered an innovation. It consists of a kind of lattice tower and a steel structure that is more reminiscent of electricity pylons. According to Gicon, the hub height of the system is 300 meters, and the total height then reaches 365 meters. For comparison: At 368 meters, the Berlin television tower is considered the tallest structure in Germany. Conventional wind turbines have a hub height of well under 200 meters.

At higher altitudes, wind conditions are generally stronger and more consistent. As a result, the huge wind tower can achieve around twice the energy output of a conventional wind turbine with the same rotor diameter, says Gicon. In addition, in the future, high-altitude wind towers could be built within existing wind farms and thus provide additional energy without taking up new areas outside of these parks, it said. It remains to be seen whether this will catch on. In any case, Gicon plans to begin series production in the early 2030s.

Together with the Federal Agency for Jump-In Innovations, founded in 2019, on whose behalf Gicon is building the Ferris wheel, a concept for the future marketing of the technology is being developed. “We are already in close contact with several potential partners and interested parties from the wind energy industry.”