Wind turbine taller than the Eiffel Tower aims to boost German electricity production

Schipkau, Germany (AP) - A wind turbine touted by its creator as the tallest in the world now soars 365 meters (1,197 feet) above the desolate countryside of eastern Germany, outpacing the Eiffel Tower's height. This gargantuan turbine stands atop an existing wind farm in Lusatia, southeast of Berlin. Previously a hub for lignite mining, the area has recently gravitated towards renewable energy.

The prototype reached its maximum height this week and is slated for an inauguration in mid-November. Jochen Grossmann, chief executive of Gicon, the Dresden-based engineering firm behind the tower, explained that the structure will capitalize on stronger, steadier winds at higher altitudes. Conventional wind turbines usually have a hub height — the distance from the ground to the rotor's center — below 200 meters (656 feet).

Grossmann stated, "At 300 meters, we enjoy such consistent and robust wind that we can generate more than double the electrical energy compared to a facility with today's heights." The turbine boasts a hub height of 300 meters (984 feet), with its rotor blades extending its total height to 365 meters. This makes it taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris (330 meters, 1,083 feet) and nearly as tall as Berlin’s television tower, Germany's tallest building at 368 meters (1,207 feet).