World’s tallest wooden wind turbine promises a cleaner future

Wooden turbines could help eliminate the carbon emissions coming from steel production.

The world's tallest wooden wind turbine (standing 150 metres high), located just outside Gothenburg, Sweden, has been in operation since the end of 2023. Its thick walls are supported by 144 layers of thin, laminated veneer lumber pressed together, which are created in a factory and then transported on site, where they are assembled and glued together.

According to the turbine's creators at tech engineering company Modvion, the wooden tower’s modularity allows for easier construction of tall wind turbines, which are more efficient at capturing strong winds.

Emitting around 12 grams of CO2 per kilowatt, wind power is one of the cleanest sources of electricity currently available. Modvion, which makes its turbines using sustainably farmed spruces, says that wood can eliminate wind power’s negative environmental footprint, the majority of which comes from the carbon-intensive steel production.