Nordex has said its latest turbine, and its planned first tower variants, is proceeding on schedule, after securing approval for a 179 metre hybrid tower in Germany.
In the course of this year the Nordex Group is to install the first two of the N175/6.X turbines from the Delta4000 series with different hub heights in Germany.
Two tower concepts are to be used here: a tubular steel tower of 112 metres and an in-house developed Nordex hybrid tower made of concrete and steel with a hub height of 179 metres.
Nordex already obtained at the end of 2023 the first DIBt type approval of the N175/6.X for the 112 metres tubular steel tower from TÜV SÜD.
Now TÜV SÜD has issued the type approval for the new hybrid tower of 179 metres developed by Nordex in-house.
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.
Karsten Brüggemann, vice president region central of the Nordex Group, said: “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 6MW, 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.”
Stephan Mayer, head of support structures on- and offshore at TÜV SÜD Industrie Service, added: “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.”
In November 2023 the Nordex Group installed the first turbines of the sister model of the N175/6.X – the N163/5.X – on hybrid towers developed in-house.
With a hub height of 168 metres this hybrid tower variant is similar in construction to the 179-metre hybrid tower planned in Germany.
The hybrid tower developed by Nordex is based on many years of experience in the design and production of concrete towers with more than 2,500 of the structures in use today.
A hybrid tower consists of up to 20-metre long, convex metal segments assembled on-site and tensioned before the steel sections, the nacelle and the rotor are installed on them.