German start-up company TimberTower makes wind turbine towers of wood. Wooden towers may be higher and cheaper than the towers made of traditional materials. Conventional wind turbines are mounted on the towers. Wood is not visible at first sight, because it is hidden behind a plastic sheath, which protects it from bad weather. TimberTower structures can carry a turbine of any size. TimberTower wants to sell its structures of large equipment manufacturers who build the entire wind power plants.
Towers made of wood have several advantages over towers made of steel. Steel towers can have a maximum height of approximately 110m, due to the base, which must not exceed 4.2 meters in diameter. This is the maximum diameter which can be usually transported under bridges. This does not apply for wooden structures, which are mounted at site. Price of transport is also significantly lower.
TimberTower hopes to reduce the cost of wind power under 5 cents (approx. CZK 1.25) per kilowatt-hour, which is already comparable to the price of electricity from nuclear power plants.
For TimberTower’s owner ecological aspect of the material used is important. According to him, traditional steel towers are not produced in a sustainable manner from steel produced in India using coal mined in Australia.
-tk-