Could wood replace steel in wind tower production?

A new partnership between forest products specialist Stora Enso and Swedish wood technology company Modvion is looking to establish wood as the go-to material for wind turbine towers, at a time when the EU is pushing to simplify the permitting process for renewables projects and reach its climate goals.

Modvion builds wind turbine towers using laminated veneer lumber (LVL), which proportionate to its weight is stronger than steel, and of which Stora is a major supplier.

The Finnish company is one of the world's largest private forest owners with forest assets of around €8 billion. Last week, Stora Enso was ranked joint second place in Europe for biodiversity reporting in the Ecogain Biodiversity Index.

Read more: Europe's top 400 companies ranked on biodiversity reporting

Modvion wind towers are built using lightweight modules allowing for easier transportation on public roads, requiring no special permit requirements for highways, and crucially, enabling the construction of taller towers. Taller towers reach stronger winds, which means more cost-efficient energy production.

According to a UN Food and Agriculture Organization (UNECE) report from November 2021, the lockdowns of the pandemic were an "opportunity for people to gain a greater appreciation of forests and their diverse roles and benefits."

"For many, experiencing nature and rediscovering forests and their possibilities has been one of the most positive effects of the pandemic," the report said.

Also, with both time and money not otherwise being spent elsewhere, many people turned to DIY and home repairs, with the construction sector performing strongly and the demand for wood products recovering quickly after Q1 2020.

Read more: Skybrators: bladeless turbines hope to reinvent wind energy

Wood as a construction material is also gaining more appreciation in recent years, thanks to its inherently sustainable nature, absorbing and storing CO2 as it grows. It can also easily be reused in other wood-based products.

The idea of using wood in the construction of satellites is even being looked at in Japan in a bid to cut down on space junk.

"We are proud to enter into partnership with Modvion who, like us, strive to push boundaries and demonstrate the possibilities with wood," said Lars Völkel, Executive Vice President of Division Wood Products at Stora Enso.

"As one of the largest sawn wood producers and private forest owners in the world, we play an important role in the transformation to a greener society. By contributing our expertise to Modvion we can further help make a difference in mitigating climate change and supporting the EU's drive to increase renewable energy production."

Read more: Europe only building half the wind power necessary for Green Deal

The partnership comes in the context of an energy crisis in Europe and an unprecedented scramble to diversify supplies and decarbonise.

While the number of new wind farm installations across the EU is rising, in a 22 February open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson and the CEOs of five wind turbine manufacturers claimed that the bloc was lagging well behind if it was to meet its own climate targets.

Two days after the letter was sent, Russia ordered its troops into Ukraine, sending already record-high energy prices skyrocketing, and hitting home the heavy reliance that many countries such as Germany and Italy have on oil and gas from Moscow.

Last week, the European Commission unveiled its REPowerEU strategy to reduce and ultimately eliminate Russian oil and gas from the bloc's energy mix by 2027. One of the ways Brussels aims to do that is by relaxing permitting processes and reducing red tape around the development of new renewables projects.

Read more: REPowerEU: Commission pushes to quit Russian gas by 2027

If the Commission's plans go ahead, wooden wind turbine towers could become a common sight in Europe and beyond. 

"To solve the climate crisis, we need more renewable energy as well as increased use of sustainable, wooden constructions. Together with Stora Enso, we can enable both," said Otto Lundman, the CEO of Modvion. 

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