Gicon builds 365-metre high-altitude wind turbine in Lusatia to test upper air currents

Structural assembly and dimensions

Engineers have completed the structural assembly of a 365-metre high-altitude wind turbine in Schipkau, located in the Lusatian mining district of southern Brandenburg. Developed by the Dresden-based engineering company Gicon, the lattice mast structure reached its final height on 28 September 2026 following delays caused by difficult weather conditions. The installation sits on an old open-cast mining spoil tip within an existing wind farm. The construction uses a steel lattice design resembling an electricity pylon, housing an inner tower that was lifted into position alongside the turbine using a telescopic mechanism. The hub height stands at 300 metres, while the overall structure reaches 365 metres, only three metres short of the 368-metre Berlin Television Tower.

With over 2,000 tonnes of installed steel and 22,000 individual parts, the lattice mast is a masterpiece of engineering.

Project timeline and backing

Gicon constructed the pilot facility on behalf of the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND), a state organization established in 2019 to fund breakthrough technological concepts. Company representatives scheduled a detailed technical briefing in Schipkau on 1 October 2026 to outline the engineering parameters of the prototype. The next operational milestone involves final technical preparations and system testing ahead of the official commissioning scheduled for November 2026. Over the coming years, field data from the site will determine whether high-altitude designs can be deployed commercially to repower or expand existing wind parks.

High-altitude wind capture

The pilot installation is designed to harvest stronger and more consistent airflows found at higher atmospheric layers. Near ground level, surface obstacles create turbulence, forcing air to shift direction and velocity unpredictably. This turbulence reduces power generation efficiency while subjecting turbine blades to fluctuating mechanical loads and accelerated wear. Standard inland wind turbines in Germany feature an average hub height of 150 metres, while coastal models average 100 metres. In contrast, operating at a 300-metre rotor height allows the turbine to avoid ground interference, with project planners projecting an electricity yield up to 60 percent higher than conventional onshore units, sufficient to supply up to 7,500 households.

Economic factors and industry benchmarks

The Bundesverband Windenergie regards the Schipkau turbine as the tallest wind energy installation globally, noting that standard onshore turbines operate with hub heights well below 200 metres. Prior to this installation, the tallest serial onshore model was a hybrid tower produced by Max Bögl, featuring a 199-metre hub height and a total height of 280 metres including rotor blades. Constructing the Gicon prototype cost nearly four times as much as a standard wind turbine. Long-term commercial viability will depend on balancing these elevated capital and maintenance costs against the value of secondary-tier electricity generation extracted directly above active lower-altitude turbines.