Towers

Why worry too much about the

tower?
• Would you put a solar collector in the
shade?
• Wind is the fuel!
• Remember, 30’ above anything w/in 500’
• Measure from the bottom of the swept
area
 Costs
• Turbine grabs our attention in a wind
system, but . . .
– The Balance of System (BOS) can easily cost
more than the turbine and
– The tower can be 2-10 times as much as the
turbine
 Consider the work of a workshop
• Most expect to mess with turbine most of the
time,
• There is much more to do than turbine such
as . . .
– Tower work
• Rope work, winch work, assembly, anchors, transit work,
tightening cable clamps (1-4 days)
– Electrical work
• Pulling wire laying conduit diggin ditches ((1-3)
– Actual turbine work
• Assemble, mount to tower (few hours – 1 day)
 3 Basic Tower Types

• Tilt-up
–Easy maintenance, no climbing
• Fixed, guyed
–Very common, climbable
• Freestanding
–Costly but attractive and climbable
 Small Wind Turbine Towers

Fixed Guyed Tilt-Up Tower Self-Supporting

Tower Tower
 Fixed Guyed Tower

Build on Tilt-Up with

ground crane
(3) guy wire
anchors, climbing,
crane
Fixed Guy Towers
• Lifted once and does
not tilt down
– Can have 3 guy wires
• Maintenance is done
by climbing
• Come in different
configurations
• Lifted in one of two
ways
– With gin pole, but in a
different manner
– With a crane
 Fixed Guy Towers
• Do not require open area of a tilt-up but
still need open lanes for the guy wires
• Guy radius is 50% to 80% of tower height
• Costs are similar to tilt-up
• You have ore options for guyed towers
because do not need as much open area
 Tilt-Up Guyed Tower

Build on Tilt-Up with (4) guys wire anchors,

ground winch or grip- maintenance on
ground, economical
hoist
Careful with
heavy turbines
and tilt up
towers…

Here is the
250lb AWP
freakin out the
tower crew at
Beech
 Tilt-up towers
• All maintenance from ground
• Come in heights up to 130 feet and
different sizes (to accommodate turbine
size and thrust)
• All tilt-up have 4 guy wires
• 3 concrete pads with the winch attached to
gin pole and 4th pad
 Tilt-up Gin Pole
• Gin-pole attaches at 90° angle
– Gin pole is typically 75% to 100% of the guy
radius
• Gin-pole is a lever that allows you to lift
tower which pivots at bottom
• Can raise or lower with truck, tractor,
winch, come-along or grip hoist
– Remote location requires winch or grip hoist
 Tilt-up Blues
• Big diamond shaped footprint
– Clear of trees for up 150’x150’
• They can be dropped, tow vehicles can slip
• For those who do not mind
climbing, a tilt-up tower can
be less convenient
• Skill must be acquired for
tilting towers
• Miss the beautiful vistas!
 Self Supporting Towers

Build on Raise with No guy wires,

ground tractor or crane requires climbing
or crane
 Free Standing Towers
• No guy wires
• No tilting
• Modest space requirement
• Involves lots of steel and concrete so more
expensive
• Higher cost of materials, labor, excavation,
concrete forms, and rebar
 Free Standing Towers
• 2 Basic Forms
– Three-legged Eiffel style
– Monopole, slender (often
very expensive and out of
budget for small scale
wind owners)
• Free standing tower will
cost at least 1/3 to 1/5
more
 Anchors

Screw-in Auger Arrowhead Rock anchors

 Details
U-bolt, dead wire

Saddle, live wire

Never saddle a dead

horse

Follow manufacturer’s
recommendations for
anchors
Avoid sharp guy wire bends
 Homebrew Towers
• Be careful.
• Engineer it properly
• Build it plenty strong
• In the end you may need an engineer’s
stamp for permits so just buy a
professionally designed tower.
 Choosing a Tower
• Turbine manufacturer will tell you what
tower size is necessary to hold your
turbine
• Remember that trees grow so plan for
mature tree size
• Is there space for a tilt-up?
• Is someone going to climb the tower that
you know?
• Ask neighbors about aesthetic concerns
 Choosing a Tower
• Take time to go look at tower installations
to know for yourself what you are getting
into
• Don’t make your tower too short
• Most common mistake in wind system
design
• If you lack experience seek professional
advice