Wind turbine manufacturer Nordex is making progress as planned with the development of its latest N175/6.X turbine and the first planned tower variants.
Nordex will be installing the first two turbines of the highly efficient Delta4000 series with different hub heights in Germany before the end of the year. Two tower concepts will be used: a tubular steel tower with a height of 112 meters and an in-house developed Nordex hybrid tower made of concrete and steel with a hub height of 179 meters.
At the end of 2023, Nordex already received the test certificate from TÜV Süd in accordance with the DIBt standard for the 112-meter tubular steel tower for the N175/6.X turbine. TÜV Süd has now also issued the test certificate for a type test in accordance with the applicable DIBt guideline for the hybrid tower with a hub height of 179 meters.
This certificate is an important prerequisite in terms of building permits in Germany to be able to install the N175/6.X on a hybrid tower of 179 metres. The certificate was handed over on 20 March 2024 at the Nordex fair booth at the WindEurope conference in Bilbao, Spain.
“Germany is one of the target markets for the 179-metre tower. With a rotor diameter of 175 metres and an installed capacity of more than 6 MW, the N175/6.X turbine in combination with this high hybrid tower makes it possible to considerably increase energy production especially at low-wind sites far away from the coast,” says Karsten Brüggemann, Vice President Region Central of the Nordex Group, welcoming the test certificate.
“The successful type approval is an independent confirmation that the requirements of the DIBt guideline for wind turbines have been met. Especially in innovative developments such as the new hybrid tower from Nordex, the 4-eyes principle is a key element in ensuring safety and reliability,” adds Stephan Mayer, Head of the Inspection Office for Structural Safety at TÜV Süd Industrie Service GmbH.
Nordex installed the first turbines of the N175/6.X’s sister model – the N163/5.X – on hybrid towers developed in-house in Finland back in November 2023. With hub heights of 168 meters, this hybrid tower variant is similar in design to the 179-meter hybrid tower planned in Germany.
The hybrid tower developed by Nordex is based on the turbine manufacturer’s expertise in the design and production of concrete towers. It is a proven concrete tower technology that Nordex has been using for more than 15 years. More than 2,500 concrete towers are already in successful operation today. A hybrid tower consists of convex concrete segments up to 20 meters long, which are assembled and braced on site before the steel sections, nacelle and rotor are installed on top.
