Modvion's first wooden wind turbine tower being installed in Sweden.
A new design for wind turbine towers could see them made from wood rather than steel, soaring to ever-greater heights and producing more power, if a new trial proves successful.
Modvion, a Swedish design and engineering company, could become the Ikea of turbine towers if its modular, laminated wood design proves successful. The company has erected a 30 meter tower at a site just outside Gothenburg, Sweden for research purposes but it says that as early as 2022, the first wooden towers will be built on a commercial scale.
The company claims that the wood structure is as strong as steel but carbon-neutral from the outset. Steel is one of the most carbon-intensive materials in the world because it requires heavily polluting coal as part of the production process, not just to provide the heat to run the smelters. Although there are moves to develop more climate-friendly steel plants using hydrogen and carbon capture and storage technology, none is close to commercialisation.
By contrast, wood towers have a drastically lower carbon footprint because they trees they are made from absorb CO2 as they grow. The wood is also lighter, and because it comes in stackable sections, it is easier, cheaper and more efficient to transport.
This advantage is enhanced by the fact that the towers are modular, so there is no need to transport structures hundreds of meters long on public roads – the pieces can be put together on site. The company says that because wooden towers are lighter and modular, it will be possible to build taller towers. If the height of the tower increases from 80 meters to 140 meters, a turbine can produce triple the amount of energy, according to the US Department of Energy.
Inside a Modvion tower
As wind towers rise above 100 meters in height, transportation poses considerable problems because the base diameters for 100+ meter towers are wider than 4.3 meters, the limit for transport width in most parts of the USA and the EU.
Additionally, the company says, conventional steel tower constructions get dramatically more expensive with height due to the increasing need for thicker walls. In order to make significant returns on wind technology investments, organizations will need to drastically improve both costs and efficiency.
"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”, says Otto Lundman, CEO of Modvion.
"Wood has fantastic properties and we need to build much more in wood if we are to meet the climate goals. For us, it is hugely inspiring to participate in this pilot project where we have been able to use renewable wood in a design for the production of renewable energy," says Johan Åhlén, CEO of Moelven Töreboda, the company which built the components.
Another significant advantage is that wooden towers can be built at a significantly lower cost than steel, which in turn lowers the overall cost of producing wind power-generated electricity.
The research tower is based at the Swedish Wind Power Technology Centre. “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,” says Ola Carlson, director of the Swedish Wind Power Technology Centre.
Modvion has already signed declarations of intent with two Swedish companies for a 110 meter tower and 10 towers at least 150 meters high, respectively. The wooden wind turbine tower could become the industry standard in the near future.
