The world’s tallest wooden wind turbine tower is nearly complete
Swedish startup Modvion is building the world’s tallest wooden wind turbine tower for an energy company in Sweden.
The 105-meter (344-feet) wind turbine tower (including the blades) will be Modvion’s first commercial installation, and the client is electric utility company Varberg Energi in Skara, Sweden.
Modvion erected the first wooden wind turbine tower on an island outside Gothenburg, Sweden, in May 2020.
The world’s tallest wooden wind turbine tower’s last modules – made from laminated veneer lumber – are currently being manufactured in Modvion’s factory in Gothenburg, which opened last year. The modules are assembled 4 x 4 at the construction site into seven sections that will make up the finished tower. Work onsite began earlier this year on the foundation. Now modules are being transported to the site, and section assembly has begun.
A 2-megawatt turbine made by Danish wind giant Vestas will be mounted on the tower. (Vestas has been a shareholder in Modvion since 2021.) This is the first time that Modvion’s tower technology and a Vestas turbine will be paired.
Modvion says the wooden wind turbine tower will be online before the end of the year.
The laminated wood used has a better strength-to-weight ratio than the types of steel used for wind turbine towers, the company asserts. The wood is also lighter, and the modular tower is easier to transport on standard roads.
Otto Lundman, CEO of Modvion, said:
Wood enables building higher towers at a lower cost, which makes wind power more efficient since winds are stronger and more stable higher up.
The wooden towers not only store carbon but also continue to absorb it during their lifetime.