The world’s tallest wind turbine has been under construction for almost two years – The crane can’t reach to lift the turbine into place

The world’s tallest wind turbine is being built in Schipkau, Germany, reports Euronews.

Upon graduation Höhenwindturm-the total height of the power plant will be approximately 360 meters. It will be the second tallest structure in Germany after the 368-meter television tower in Berlin.

The construction work started with the laying of the foundation stone in September 2024. The wind turbine was supposed to start in 2025, but the construction work has been delayed.

The power plant’s engine room will be installed at a height of 300 meters, which is the height of the power plant’s pole. However, traditional cranes cannot lift the heavy machine room and blades this high.

Instead, a telescopic device is used to lift the wind turbine. The power plant’s mast will first be built 150 meters high, and the machine room and platforms will be installed. After that, the telescope structure is raised to 300 meters.

• Watch the YouTube video to see how the telescope structure works. If embedding doesn’t work, you can also watch the video from this link.

The highest wind turbines in Finland are located in Ii, in the Viinamäki wind farm. The pole height of the power plants is 175 meters and the total height is 250 meters.

Currently the tallest masts in the world are known to be a Chinese wind power company Goldwindin 185-meter “hybrid masts” built from concrete and steel. Also the most powerful in the world In a 26 MW offshore wind farm has a 185-meter mast.

At least Vestas is Danish and headquartered in Germany Nordex have both launched their own power plants with 199-meter hybrid masts. Nordex has received the first order for such a power plant, which is scheduled for delivery in 2027.

Placing the turbine high up is worth it, because the wind blows much stronger there and the turbine produces more energy.

The rotor to be installed in the German power plant is small in relation to the height of the mast. The diameter of the rotor will be about 120 meters.

The German project has not been spared from problems. At the end of 2025, problems were noticed in the steel structures. Deviations were found in the steel components supplied by the subcontractor.

New spare parts arrived at the site and the defective components were replaced with new ones in March 2026.

If everything goes according to plan from now on, Höhenwindturm will still be connected to the network during 2026.

The eight megawatt turbine located at high altitude has been calculated to produce approximately 30–33 GWh of energy per year.

The German engineering company Gicon is responsible for the construction of the wind farm. The financier of the project is Sprind, the German federal innovation agency.