Germany: REPower builds the word’s biggest wind turbine

In mid-September, REPower Systems AG installed the prototype for the biggest wind turbine ever constructed at Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein. With a nominal output of 5 MW, the turbine has a blade 126 metres in diameter.

The turbine, originally designed for an off-shore wind farm, will go through a series of tests on land. It should produce 17 million kWh per year, equivalent to the energy consumption of 4,500 three-person households. Other plants are planned for the next few years, while the first off-shore wind farms should be operational from 2006.