The tallest wind turbines in the world

The tallest wind turbines in the world are currently being erected near Schwäbisch Hall in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg. The Max Bögl Group is erecting four turbines with a total height of 240 metres

The tallest wind turbines in the world are currently being erected near Schwäbisch Hall in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg. The Max Bögl Group is erecting four turbines with a total height of 240 metres which will stand on enormous water basins. The system will be able to generate additional electricity when demand is high through its combination with a pump accumulator power plant in nearby Kocher Valley. A Liebherr mobile crane has now erected the 40-metre high active basins.

The water basins and the 40-metre high tower foundations for the wind turbines are used as water storage facilities. Furthermore, the rotors of the turbines reach up to higher air layers where there is a greater chance of beneficial wind conditions. Currently the active basins consisting of 27 prestressed concrete rings are being constructed on which the wind turbines will then be erected. An LTM 11200-9.1 from Max Bögl is being used for this job. Fitted with 202 tonnes of ballast, the mobile crane is hoisting the massive components onto each other. The nine-axle crane is handling a load of over 90 tonnes for this purpose.

The enormous concrete rings are supplied in four individual segments which are assembled on site and stressed using steel cables. The finished component has a diameter of 16 metres and is 1.5 metres high.

The Liebherr LTM 11200-9.1 (the Max Bögl Group has four cranes of this type in its fleet) will then also place some of the turbine towers on the 40-metre high reservoir and will also assemble the Liebherr 630 EC-H 70 top-slewing crane required to complete the job on the reservoir tower. This self-climbing construction crane will reach a hook height of around 190 metres above the ground. The four wind turbines in Gaildorf are due to go onto the grid before the end of 2017 whilst the pump accumulator system is to go into service at the end of 2018 at the latest.