Global wind giant lays claim to installing turbine with highest ever hub height

Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas says it has installed an onshore wind turbine in Germany with the world’s tallest hub height, measuring in at 199 metres.

Vestas announced on its LinkedIn account late last week that one of its EnVentus V172-7.2-megawatt (MW) turbines had been installed atop a mammoth concrete hybrid tower built by German construction firm Max Bögl Group.

Located in Winnberg near Sengenthal in the west of Germany, the 7.2 MW turbine is now the world’s tallest, with a hub height of 199 metres, and a total height from ground to blade tip of 285 metres.

“As permitting constraints, land availability and grid access increasingly shape project development, maximising site performance by partnering across the value chain is more important than ever,” Vestas said.

“This milestone demonstrates how innovation can increase energy production by accessing stronger and more consistent wind resources through modular design, helping to capture more energy and create greater value for customers.”

While Vestas was wary enough to describe this milestone as “the tallest ever achieved by an onshore wind turbine”, it also appears to be the tallest of any series-produced wind turbine in the world.

Wind turbine world records are a tricky business to monitor, especially given that some records are claimed by prototypes and others by series-produced models.

Chinese manufacturer Dongfang Electric Corporation began producing a 26 MW offshore wind turbine with a hub height of 185 metres back in 2024, with some reports adding that the blades for the turbine would take its tip height to 340 metres.

Similarly, earlier this year, China Three Gorges successfully installed what it believed to be the world’s largest single-rotor floating offshore wind turbine, measuring in at 270 metres from sea level to blade tip.

The new milestone from Vestas would beat out the Dongfang turbine for hub height, but not blade tip, and edge out the China Three Gorges floating offshore turbine.

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