Germany is set to blow away the competition by building the world’s tallest wind turbine more than three times the height of Big Ben.
The vertigo-inducing structure is expected to cost up to £24 million and stand at an impressive 1,197 feet tall, making it even taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The electricity generating giant is so tall it even reaches the height most commercial aircraft fly at when they are making their final approach to a runway.
According to the Global Construction Review, the massive project is being financed by the Federal Agency for Disruptive Technologies (Sprind) and built in collaboration with Dresden-based engineer Gicon.
Wind power is seen as one of the greenest technologies globally for generating electricity, although the large imposing towers can face opposition from local residents and the blades have been known to kill birds.
Alongside Denmark, Germany is one of the biggest manufacturers of wind turbines and wind turbine blades, with many of the devices in Britain coming from both European nations.
Wind speeds are usually higher at altitude, hence the thinking behind producing taller and taller turbines, although the blades will remain the standard 65 metres in length.
Martin Chaumet, head of Sprind subsidiary Beventum, explained the reason for building a turbine so hight was because “at that height there are practically no areas any more with a lack of wind.”
The latest tall turbine is expected to begin operation in summer 2025.
In Britain, an investigation has concluded a rare golden eagle died after a “wind turbine strike” in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.
The death of the locally-fledged bird, named Sparky, is the first recorded incident of its kind in the south of Scotland, according to conservation body South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project (SSGEP).
The group, which monitors and researches the golden eagle population in the area, said they learned “something untoward” had happened to the three-year-old raptor on the afternoon of August 22 this year from their satellite tagging system.
They quickly found the body, which was lying 15 metres from a turbine base with its wing detached, and worked with staff at the wind farm to secure the body for pathological investigations.
