Enercon

Enercon E-112

Enercon GmbH, based in Aurich, Northern Germany, is the third-largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world and the market leader in Germany.

One of Enercon's key innovations is the gearless (direct drive) wind turbine in combination with an annular generator. This is unlike most other wind turbines, which use a potentially more accident-sensitive gearbox in order to increase the rotation speed of the generator. Other differences of Enercon's wind turbines are their distinctive drop-shaped generator housings, designed by Sir Norman Foster, and their towers, which are colored light green at the base to blend in with their surroundings.

As of April 2005 Enercon had installed 7,831 wind turbines, with an overall power of 7.2 GW. Their most-often installed model is the E-40 (the number indicates the rotor diameter in meters), which pioneered the gearbox-less design in 1992. Enercon GmbH has production facilities in Germany (Aurich and Magdeburg), Sweden, Brazil, India and Turkey.

Enercon doesn't have a branch in the US, although they had plans to do so until 1992. This is due to the fact that the patent on gearless wind turbines, U.S. patent 5,083,039 , was assigned to US Windpower, Inc. in 1992. This technology was stolen from Enercon by the NSA using the ECHELON espionage system and an intrusion into one of the first-installed E-40 models.

As of late 2005, Enercon's biggest model was the E-112, with a rotor diameter of about 113 m and rated at 4.5 MW. It is the precursor for large turbines for offshore wind parks under construction and partly in operation. From August 2002 to December 2004, it was the biggest wind turbine in the world. At the end of 2005, it was upgraded to 6 MW.

External links

• www.enercon.de - Enercon's home page