At first glance, the wind-turbine tower that rises from the green landscape in the Swedish municipality of Skara looks like any other. It reaches a height of 105 meters and, at the top, supports a familiar trio of big rotating blades. But unlike most wind-turbine towers, which are made of steel, this one is wooden. It represents the first commercial installation by Swedish engineering company Modvion—and it could point to the future of wind energy. When it comes to renewable energy, wood can make wind power even greener by serving as the material for the towers. What's more, wood can help wind turbines to become cheaper and more powerful, providing an economic incentive on top of the environmental one, according to Modvion Chief Executive Officer Otto Lundman. "Wooden turbine towers are lighter, more modular and can be built taller than steel towers," said Lundman. Modvion received EU funding to advance the goal of high-altitude wind turbines with wooden towers. The project ran from October 2020 through September 2023. The tower of the Skara turbine emerged from the project and is made of laminated wood from Modvion's factory in Gothenburg located about 130 kilometers to the southwest. It took around a year to build and entered into operation for Swedish power company Varberg Energi in February 2024. Denmark-based Vestas supplied the turbine. "Building and designing towers like this requires large investments," said Lundman. "EU funding was instrumental in allowing us to develop this technology." Wind energy has grown rapidly across Europe in recent years and in 2022 met 16% of the EU's electricity needs. Wind also accounted for 37% of the electricity generated from renewable sources in the EU in 2021. A record 17 gigawatts of wind energy was built in Europe in 2023, according to industry association WindEurope. Nonetheless, wind power must expand further for the EU to meet goals of... |