Modern installations for non-polluting energy production have a dual responsibility to the environment, which can be measured both in terms of their ecology – how efficiently they perform – and in terms of their visual impact upon the landscape. This new generation of wind turbines, developed with the German power company Enercon, addresses both these issues, harmonising the practice’s longstanding interest in developing sustainable forms of energy generation with its broader commitment to exemplary design.
The clarity of the turbine’s design developed through a singular approach to its three principle components, with rotor spinner, ring generator and tower all formed through natural paraboloid geometries. Allied to this formal consistency, the turbine’s engineering is both innovative and highly efficient since the generator is driven directly by its 32-metre-long rotor blades, avoiding the need for a gearbox. Maintenance problems and noise pollution usually associated with turbine gearboxes are therefore avoided. Instead, kinetic energy from the wind is converted directly into regulated electrical current – a far more efficient solution. With an individual power rating of up to 2 megawatts, the resulting turbine can generate enough clean, renewable energy to supply 1,600 homes.
