Sweden has completed and launched its first wooden wind turbine tower made from sustainably sourced materials. The wooden power tower allegedly offers comparable performance to traditional wind turbines. It’s hoped the tower will provide cheaper and greener solutions for renewable energy in the country.
Ola Carlson, the Swedish Wind Power Technology Center’s director, said:
Wind power is expected to be the EU’s largest power source as early as 2027, with wind towers in wood, we get even more climate-smarter renewable electricity to face the climate crisis.
Following TimberTower’s world’s first wooden wind turbine in Hanover, Germany, the new wooden wind tower in Sweden was developed by Modvion, a Swedish engineering firm. There are many benefits to this new wooden design compared with typical steel wind towers; it’s cheaper and lighter. Steel towers have thick bases, which make them expensive to manufacture and transport, as load-size rules on public roads often make it difficult.
Modvion’s wooden wind turbine, however, is a modular version that allows for stackable sections to be transported on public roads without trouble. The material is cheaper and greener than steel, which involves massive amounts of energy to produce. These wooden wind towers are designed to be able to reach heights of over 120 m (393 ft).
Together with wood construction company Moelven, Modvion built the 30-meter (100-ft) proof-of-concept tower at a Moelven facility in Töreboda.
Otto Lundman, the CEO of Modvion AB, explained:
This is a major breakthrough that paves the way for the next generation of wind turbines. Laminated wood is stronger than steel at the same weight, and by building in modules, the wind turbines can be taller. By building in wood, we also reduce carbon dioxide emissions in manufacturing and instead store carbon dioxide in the design.
Modvion plans to build commercial-scale versions of its wooden turbine tower in 2022. These would include ten towers of 150 m (490 ft) tall for clean energy company Rabbalshede Kraf and a 110-meter-tall (360-ft) version for Varberg Energi.
