Innovative design. A wooden tower for a wind turbine
Sweden’s first wind turbine tower made of wood has been built on the island of Björkö, just outside of Gothenburg. The 30-metre mast was initially erected for research purposes by engineering company Modvion on behalf of the Swedish Wind Power Technology Centre at Chalmers University of Technology. The first wooden tower for commercial purposes is planned to be constructed by as early as 2022. The tower is paving the way for the next generation of wind turbines, according to Otto Lundman, managing director of Modvion. He says that laminated wood is stronger than steel of the same weight and that the lower weight of wood and the modular concept make it possible to build taller towers which can still be transported on public roads. Wooden wind turbine towers can also be constructed in a significantly more cost-effective manner than steel towers. What’s more, the carbon dioxide absorbed by trees is stored in the wooden towers, making the wind turbines climate-neutral from the outset. “Wood has fantastic characteristics and we must build much more out of it if we are to achieve climate targets. Participating in this pilot project has been enormously inspiring to us because in doing it, we can use wood, a renewable source of energy, in a design for the generation of renewable energy,” explains Johan Ehlén, CEO of Moelven Töreboda where the tower was made.
