Gicon Completes World's Tallest Wind Turbine in Brandenburg

The structure now ranks as the second-tallest in Germany and the tallest wind turbine anywhere in the world, Gicon said. Its height is intended to place the rotor in stronger, more consistent winds that blow at higher altitudes, though engineers will not know whether the added generation justifies the extra cost and construction effort until the turbine begins operating.

The first of the super-tall units carries a rated output of 3.8 MW, with later builds expected to reach 7 MW. That figure is modest by turbine standards, but Gicon expects the taller design to reach peak capacity more often and more steadily, producing roughly twice the energy yield of a conventional turbine with the same rotor diameter.

The tower was erected using an "inside out" method, in which a strand jack system lifted the upper sections through the center of the base of the turbine before they were fixed in place. Gicon says the approach made the extreme height practical to build.

"This is an overwhelming moment for our entire team," Gicon chief executive Prof. Dr. Jochen Großmann said. "What was long a challenging idea and then an equally challenging construction project now stands as a globally unique facility in Schipkau... we at Gicon are extremely proud of this."

Gicon also says existing wind farms can be retrofitted with the taller structures, which in theory would draw more power from plots already in use without requiring additional land development.

Whether the record height translates into a meaningful gain in output remains to be measured. Once the turbine is running, operators will be able to compare its performance at higher altitudes against that of conventional towers. Should the design prove out, taller turbines could become more common in future wind projects.

The completion adds a new entry to wind energy engineering records, and puts a German manufacturer, rather than one of the sector's larger global suppliers, behind the tallest machine built to date.