Vestas has launched the Large Diameter Steel Tower (LDST) to increase tower height for 3MW turbines to over 140 metres. The LDST enables cost effective taller towers to take advantage of stronger wind conditions at higher hub heights for the V117-3.3MW and V126-3.3MW turbines, increasing annual energy production.
Increasing the tower heights increases the force exerted by the wind on the base of the tower. Typically, this requires the use of thicker steel plates. The LDST instead increases the diameter of the bottom section, increasing the strength while using little extra steel, reducing production costs, and ensuring lower cost of energy. The increased diameter of the tower presents a challenge in terms of transportation. Vestas has solved this by delivering the bottom tower section in three lengthways segments. These can easily and cost effectively be transported on a flatbed truck and reassembled on site using vertical flanges to ensure strength. A prototype for the V112-3.3 MW was delivered in Germany in 2013. Vestas has already received firm orders for over fifty turbines using the LDST technology. The LDST will be available in 137 meters for the V126-3.3 MW and 141.5 meters for the V117-3.3 MW.
