World’s First Full-Scale Timber Wind Turbine is Operational in Sweden

Built by wood technology company Modvion, the world’s first full-scale timber wood turbine has started turning, according to a feature by Dezeen (1-29-24). The 105-meter-tall tower in Skara, Sweden, is Modvion’s first commercial wind turbine tower and follows a smaller 30-meter-high demonstration project the company completed in 2020.

While the turbine tower’s rotor blades and generator hub are made of conventional materials, the tower is made of laminated veneer lumber (LVL), a type of engineered wood made of thin veneer strips glued together and often used for beams and load-bearing building structures. Modvion says that this type of wood is not only strong enough to withstand the forces of a turning turbine, but it is also more environmentally sustainable to build than the currently used steel, Dezeen reported.

While wind power plays an important role in providing the world with green renewable energy, there are still ample carbon emissions created during their construction—in part because of the steel towers. Modvion describes its wood towers as reducing the carbon emissions from wind turbine construction by over 100% due to the combination of a less emissions-heavy production process and the carbon storage provided by trees, according to Dezeen.