Wind turbine with viewing platform

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Close-up of the viewing platform of the E-66 wind power plant Südkronsberg (D); Manufacturer: Enercon

A wind power plant with integrated viewing platform (short lookout or visitors wind turbine colloquially also -Windrad called) is a wind turbine (WT), the tower is also a viewing platform bears and so as a lookout tower acts.

So far (as of mid-2011) there are fewer than a dozen such systems worldwide (see list below). According to orf.at there are 8 WKAs with viewing platforms in Europe (as of May 2019).

use

WEA with viewing platform (Zoetermeer / Netherlands; manufacturer: Tacke / Enron)

To take advantage of the increasingly favorable wind conditions with increasing altitude, wind turbines usually have a tower that is as high as possible and, on the other hand, where the terrain allows, they are exposed on a hill or ridge in a favorable wind direction . As a result, they usually offer a good view from the tower and are generally suitable for the installation of a viewing platform.

The reasons for the installation are usually on the one hand - as is the case with conventional observation towers - to increase the tourist attractiveness of a scenic region and create an excursion destination for locals and guests. The conflict with landscape protection is to be defused and acceptance among the population increased. In this role, such wind turbines are more often supported by local communities and tourism associations.

On the other hand, such wind power plants are being built in order to advertise and publicize the use of wind energy in general and the interests of the companies involved with this “ lighthouse project ” that is visible from afar . In this function, such systems are often combined with a visitor information center.

Technology and manufacturer

For safety reasons and to protect visitors from the weather and noise, the platform is usually designed as a closed, glazed pulpit that is attached below the gondola.

For the use of a wind turbine as a lookout tower, special technical requirements must be met and special permits are required. In particular, it is about ensuring the safety of visitors and the escape and rescue options in the event of technical damage or any other accident or emergency. For safety reasons, access may not be permitted for children under a minimum age and height.

Different manufacturers offer slightly different designs:

  • Enercon , the largest German manufacturer, offers a pulpit that is firmly attached to the tower. The pulpit is axially symmetrical and has windows all around. Access is via a spiral staircase inside the tower. Enercon has so far (as of mid-2011) installed six of its patented pulpitsworldwide, all in connection with the WKA type E-66 (see list below).
  • Enron Wind (or its predecessor Tacke Windtechnik ) has constructed a pulpit that is similar in structure to that of Enercon. The only installed system is at the Siemens Business Center in Zoetermeer , South Holland, the headquarters of Siemens in the Netherlands. At 80 m, the pulpit is the highest ever built. After Enron's bankruptcy in 2002 and the takeover by GE Wind Energy , no further such plants were planned.
  • Leitwind , a manufacturer from South Tyrol, Italy, pursues a slightly different concept: Here the viewing platform is not permanently connected to the tower, but to the gondola, i.e. H. it takes part in the azimuth rotation of the gondola. The pulpit is not radially symmetrical in its shape and glazing; there are also windows on the floor. The pulpit, which offers space for up to 36 people, can be comfortably reached via a lift . The first and so far (as of mid-2011) only facility of this type was opened in early 2010, on the occasion of the Olympic Winter Games , in the Grouse Mountain ski areanear Vancouver in Canada.

Plant locations

Executed systems

Surname Country Place Coordinates Manufacturer, type
Platform height		 Construction year
Lichtenegg wind power station , (Bucklige Welt) AustriaAustria Austria , Lichtenegg 47 ° 36 ′ 31 ″  N , 16 ° 12 ′ 13 ″  E Enercon , E-66 60 m 2003
Bruck an der Leitha wind farm , (VERBUND Wind Power Austria) AustriaAustria Austria , Bruck an der Leitha 48 ° 1 '57.9 "  N , 16 ° 43' 57.2"  E Enercon, E-66 60 m 2000
Visitor wind turbine vestibule , (Euro Wind Park) GermanyGermany Germany , Aachen , on the Vetschauer Berg 50 ° 48 '24 "  N , 6 ° 1' 14"  E Enercon, E-66 60 m 1999
E-66 wind turbine Südkronsberg GermanyGermany Germany , Hanover , on the Kronsberg 52 ° 19 '0.2 "  N , 9 ° 50' 18.9"  E Enercon, E-66 60 m 2000
Holtriem wind farm GermanyGermany Germany , Westerholt 53 ° 34 ′ 51.9 "  N , 7 ° 28 ′ 31.4"  E Enercon, E-66 60 m 1998
Ecotech Center United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom , Norfolk , Swaffham, 52 ° 39 '24.5 "  N , 0 ° 41' 0.2"  E Enercon, E-66 60 m 1999
Siemens Business Center NetherlandsNetherlands Netherlands , Zoetermeer 52 ° 2 '33.5 "  N , 4 ° 31' 2.8"  E Enron Wind (Tacke Windtechnik), 1.5s 80 m 2000
The Eye of the Wind CanadaCanada Canada , Vancouver , on Grouse Mountain 49 ° 23 '15.1 "  N , 123 ° 4' 27"  W. Leitwind , LTW 77 60 m 2010

There is also a “wind turbine” on the Dietzenbach observation tower , which is not used to generate electricity, but rather as a whirligig and can therefore not be equated with the above.

Planned plants

In addition to the ones listed above, wind turbines with viewing platforms were or are planned at various locations, but have not (yet) been implemented:

  • The American architect Michael Jantzen has designed various concepts for futuristic buildings with integrated wind turbines, including observation towers. But none of these has yet been implemented.
  • For a small wind farm in Dagenham in the east of London in England there had been plans since 2003 - and a corresponding permit to expand the park with a wind turbine (WKA for short) with a viewing platform. This wind turbine was built in May 2011, but without a viewing platform.
  • In the Druiberg energy park near Dardesheim there has been an Enercon E-112 wind power plant since 2006 , which carries an open platform for about six people on top of the machine house, but which is not accessible to the general public. A wind farm with a closed viewing platform has also been planned since 2004; the construction was prepared, the plan for implementation was postponed several times and has not yet been implemented (but (as of January 2010) not discarded).
  • On the occasion of the international building exhibition in Hamburg in 2008 it was planned to build a wind turbine with a viewing platform on the Georgswerder Höhe (the former Georgswerder landfill ) in Hamburg - Georgswerder as part of the Energieberg project . The plan was later changed and the viewing platform was built on the ground at the foot of several WKAs.
  • On the campus of the Wind Energy Center , a training center of the Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) in Killybegs , Ireland, a prospect wind turbine is to be set up for information purposes and to promote tourism.
  • The council of the Braintree district in Essex , England, is currently planning (as of mid-2011) the installation of a viewing wind turbine at the visitor center (Discovery Center) of the Great Notley Country Park nature and recreation area .
  • Eveline Lemke , the Minister for Economic Affairs, Climate Protection, Energy and State Planning of Rhineland-Palatinate , has spoken out several times in favor of having visitor wind turbines built by local wind power producers. Specific location was not mentioned, above all the altitude of the Rhineland-Palatinate low mountain range ( Hunsrück , Eifel , Westerwald , Taunus ).
  • In a planned wind farm near Doonbeg in County Clare , Ireland , an observation wind farm is also to be built.

Events

On May 18, 2019, a "Day of the Wind" will be held at the Lichtenegg wind power station , on which the ultra runner Rainer Predl will try to run a marathon in the viewing platform - 3,125 laps each 13.5 m, change of direction after every kilometer. Wind causes the platform to swing.

Web links

Commons : Wind Turbines with Observation Deck  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The NEA “Windfang” visitor wind turbine. NEA Neue Energie non-profit GmbH, accessed on July 22, 2011 .
  2. ↑ World record attempt on wind turbine Lichtenegg orf.at, May 16, 2019, accessed May 16, 2019.
  3. ↑ Wind energy - energy that pulls. Energy Atlas Bavaria. Bavarian State Government, accessed on July 25, 2011 .
  4. ↑ a b Joachim Wille: Set up beautiful wind turbines as viewpoints . In: Berliner Zeitung , May 7, 2011; Interview with Eveline Lemke , Minister for Economic Affairs of Rhineland-Palatinate
  5. ↑ Christopher Stark: Landscape image assessment and landscape image analysis: Qualitative environmental effects and spatial impact of wind energy . Written elaboration for a presentation in the project seminar "Wind Energy". University of Hamburg ( christopherstark.de [PDF; 447 kB ] full text, winter semester 2007/2008).
  6. ^ British Wind Energy Association (Ed.): The impact of wind farms on the tourist industry in the UK . Investigation report for a Commission of the British Parliament. June 2006 (English, bwea.com [PDF] full text). bwea.com ( Memento from June 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ Heiko Rüppel: Participation concepts for the expansion of wind power. (PDF; 1.0 MB) Lecture documentation for the seminar “New Spatial Planning for Renewable Energies”. Synovativ, KEEA Climate and Efficiency Agency, May 20, 2010, archived from the original on January 28, 2015 ; Retrieved July 25, 2011 .
  8. ↑ Wind turbines may not be used as observation towers in Schleswig-Holstein. Windmesse.de, August 5, 2003, accessed on July 25, 2011 .
  9. ↑ Patent US6998729 : Wind energy plant having an observation platform. Registered on November 28, 2000 , published on February 14, 2006 , inventor: Aloys Wobben (Enercon). ‌
  10. ↑ Personalize your wind turbine. Leitwind AG, accessed on July 21, 2011 .
  11. ↑ a b Grouse Mountain - with “Leitwind” to the Olympics in Vancouver. Südtirol News, February 9, 2010, archived from the original on February 11, 2010 ; Retrieved July 21, 2011 .
  12. ↑ Leitwind hands over plant in Canada. The silent revolution. Leitwind AG, February 9, 2010, accessed on July 25, 2011 .
  13. ^ Wind Activated Structures. Michael Jantzen, accessed July 26, 2011 .
  14. ↑ Dardesheimer Windblatt . No. 13 . Windpark Druiberg GmbH, July 2005 ( full text (PDF) on energiepark-druiberg.de).
  15. ^ Thomas WH Koppermann: Energieberg 2013. Accessed on July 25, 2011 .
  16. ↑ The LYIT Wind Energy centered on Killybegs campus. Killybegsonline, April 12, 2011, accessed July 25, 2011 .
  17. ^ Council plans viewing platform on 85m structure. This is Total Essex: Braintree Chronicle, June 16, 2011, accessed July 25, 2011 .
  18. ↑ Ludger Fittkau : Setting the course. Premiere for the first green economics minister. Interview with Eveline Lemke , Minister for Economic Affairs of Rhineland-Palatinate. dradio.de (Deutschlandfunk), May 12, 2011, accessed on July 25, 2011 .
  19. ^ Dan Danaher: Plans for panoramic tourist viewing tower on wind farm site. Irish Examiner (online), February 25, 2011, accessed July 26, 2011 .
  20. ↑ World record attempt on wind turbine Lichtenegg orf.at, May 16, 2019, accessed May 16, 2019.