World's tallest wooden wind turbine starts turning

What is constructed from the same wood as a Christmas tree, held together by adhesive, and fabricated in a Swedish factory for later assembly? If you're thinking of flat-pack furniture or meatballs, you're mistaken. If you answered 'a wooden wind turbine', you're quite the visionary. According to Modvion, a Swedish start-up that has recently constructed the world's tallest wooden turbine tower, utilizing wood for wind power is the future. 'It has tremendous potential,' Otto Lundman, the company's CEO, states as we gaze upwards at the firm's brand new turbine, located a short drive outside Gothenburg. The turbine stands 150m (492ft) tall to the tip of the highest blade and we are the first journalists to be invited to inspect it from the inside. The 2 megawatt generator on top has just begun supplying electricity to the Swedish grid, providing power for approximately 400 homes.

Lundman and Modvion aspire to take the combination of wood and wind to even greater heights. On the horizon near the Modvion project, several very similar-looking turbines are rotating. However, these are constructed from steel, not wood, which is the primary material for almost all of the world's turbine towers. Steel, being strong and durable, has facilitated the construction of massive turbines and wind farms on land and at sea. But steel is not without its limitations, particularly for projects on land. As the demand for taller turbines that can harness stronger winds with larger generators has increased, the diameter of the cylindrical steel towers to support them has had to expand as well. In a world filled with road tunnels, bridges and roundabouts, many in the wind industry argue that transporting these enormous pieces of metal to turbine sites has become a significant challenge, effectively limiting how tall new steel turbines can be.

From the exterior, there is little noticeable difference between the Modvion wooden turbine and its steel counterparts. Both have a thick white coating to shield them from the elements and blades primarily made from fibreglass attached to a generator, which generates electricity when it rotates. It is only when we venture inside the tower that the differences become apparent. The walls have a curved raw wood finish, reminiscent of a sauna. The 105m (345ft) tower's strength is derived from the 144 layers of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) that constitute its thick walls. By varying the grain of each of the 3mm-thick layers of spruce, Modvion claims it has been able to regulate the wall's strength and flexibility. 'It's our secret recipe,' says company co-founder - and former architect and boat builder - David Olivegren, with a grin.