The world's tallest wooden turbine begins operation.

Modvion, the Swedish startup building the world's tallest wooden turbine tower, uses wood to harness wind energy, which has great potential for the future.

Modvion's wood-fired turbine has a power output of 2 megawatts. Photo: Modvion — Modvion's wood-fired turbine has a power output of 2 megawatts. Photo: *Modvion*

Modvion's brand-new turbine, installed near Gothenburg, stands 150 meters tall from the base to the tip of its highest blade. A 2-megawatt generator at the top of the turbine tower has begun supplying electricity to the Swedish grid, enough to power approximately 400 households. Otto Lundman, the company's CEO, hopes to increase the height of the wooden turbine further, BBC reported on December 28th.

On the horizon near Modvion's project, several similarly shaped turbines are spinning. Instead of wood, their primary material is steel, like most turbine towers around the world. Strong and durable, steel allows for the construction of enormous turbines and wind farms that can be located on land and offshore. But steel still has limitations, especially for onshore projects.

Due to the increasing demand for taller turbines, capturing stronger winds with larger generators, the diameter of the cylindrical steel towers supporting the structure also needs to increase. With routes involving numerous tunnels, bridges, and roundabouts, the shared responsibility of transporting these massive metal structures to the turbine site becomes a major headache for many operators, while also limiting the height of the steel turbines.

From the outside, Modvion's wooden turbine and its steel counterpart are virtually indistinguishable. Both feature a thick white protective coating, and their blades are primarily made of fiberglass, connected to a generator that produces electricity as the turbine blades rotate. Only when viewed from the inside of the turbine tower do the differences become apparent. The tower walls are covered in rough wood. Lundman stated that a major advantage of the turbine design is that, by using wood and glue, the tower can be built in small, modular units that are easier to transport. This makes constructing tall turbine towers easier and allows for transportation to challenging locations.

However, Dr. Maximilian Schnippering, sustainability director at Siemens Gamesa, one of the world's largest turbine manufacturers, noted that more components require more trucks, labor, and time for installation. Schnippering sees the modular system as an advantage, and that a wooden turbine tower can support a steel tower. Steel is a suitable material for modular design, but assembling the components adds to costs and maintenance.

Modvion's turbine tower uses approximately 200 logs. Modvion says it hopes to soon build a taller turbine and open a production facility capable of manufacturing 100 modular wood turbines a year by 2027.

An Khang (According to BBC )

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