Swedish renewable energy startup Modvion has officially finished the development of the groundbreaking wooden wind turbine with an astounding height of 492 feet (150 m), making it the world’s tallest of its kind to date.
About the wooden wind turbine
The new wooden wind turbine boasts a 2 megawatt MW) capacity that sufficiently powers 400 households in Sweden.
Modvion erected the world’s tallest wooden wind turbine outside Skara, northeast of Gothenburg, for electric utility Varberg Energi. As mentioned, it features a 492 feet (150 m) height, including the highest blade’s tip.
Its walls include 144 layers of laminated veneer lumber (LVL), with every layer featuring 3 millimeters of sustainable spruce. Modvion developed the wooden wind turbine tower in seven quarters consisting of 28 stacked modules bound by steel fittings glued into place.
“Wood and glue is the perfect combination, we’ve known that for hundreds of years. And because using wood is lighter [than steel] you can build taller turbines with less material.”
David Olivegren, Modvion Co-Founder and Former Architect (via BBC)
According to Electrek, Danish wind giant Vestas was the one that produced the 2 MW turbine used on the wooden tower. It is unsurprising, considering that it has been a Modvion shareholder since 2021.
What’s special about the wood integration?
Modvion emphasized that the use of wood instead of steel for the new wind turbine in Sweden enables easier transportation on standard roads owing to its lighter weight. It can also support faster installation at the site by stacking up each part to build the tower.
It further noted that the wooden towers are carbon-negative, which aids in the continuous absorption of carbon in their entire lifespan. The company can also reuse the tower walls when they hit the end of their lifetime as high-strength beams.
For context, steel has long been the key material for wind turbines due to its strength and durability. However, steel-made wind turbines tend to be challenging to transport to the sites amid the world’s increasing adoption of road tunnels, bridges, and roundabouts.
“What we find interesting about this is that its combination of an economically viable solution that addresses the transport bottleneck and a sustainable solution.”
Jan Hagen, Modvion Chief Technology Officer for Northern and Central Europe
What’s next?
Modvion reportedly told the news platform that it aims to develop another wind turbine that would beat the height of the prior one.
It also plans to launch a new factory to produce 100 wooden modular wind turbines per year by 2027.
Modvion also cited the industry’s current annual rate of 20,000 turbines. Within the next ten years, the company aims to have 10% or roughly 2,000 of those turbines made from wood.
