Growian

GROWIAN
GROWIAN with its two wind gauge pylons
Location of Growian
Country	Germany
Location	Schleswig-Holstein
Coordinates	53°55′38″N 8°57′00″E / 53.927333°N 8.950066°E / 53.927333; 8.950066Coordinates: 53°55′38″N 8°57′00″E / 53.927333°N 8.950066°E / 53.927333; 8.950066
Status	Decommissioned
Construction began	1976
Commission date	1983
Decommission date	1987
Owner(s)	Growian GmbH
Operator(s)	Growian GmbH
Wind farm
Type	Onshore
Hub height	100 metres (330 ft)
Rotor diameter	100 metres (330 ft)
Rated wind speed	12 metres per second (39 ft/s)
Power generation
Nameplate capacity	3 MW
Planned net output	12 GWh

Growian or GROWIAN (short for German "Große Windenergieanlage" - "Large wind turbine") was a publicly funded wind turbine built in the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Koog near Marne for purposes of technology testing in the 1980s. It was a two-bladed "lee runner" (the rotor was situated on the downwind side of the tower) with a hub height of about 100 metres (330 ft).

For a long time Growian was the world's largest wind turbine. Many features of the installation were novel and had not previously been trialled at this scale. Due to manufacturing faults in the casing, the turbine could not be run at full performance, and various issues with materials and construction prevented continuous testing. Consequently, the installation was idle for the greater part of the period between the first test run on 6 July 1983 (official start of operations was 4 October 1983) and end of operations in August 1987. Growian was decommissioned over the course of 1987, and dismantled in summer 1988.

Growian's power rating was 3,000 kW, at the time the highest in the world. The rotor had an oscillating nave, a diameter of 100.4 metres (329 ft), and revolved at approximately 19.5 rpm. The orientation of the two blades was regulated by a mechanical-electrical mechanism. In contrast to most modern turbines, the blades rotated on the leeward side of the tower.

The turbine house at a height of 100 metres (330 ft) weighed 340 t, and each blade weighed 23 t.

The turbine had a switching on speed of 5.4 metres per second (18 ft/s) and a rated speed of 12 metres per second (39 ft/s). It would cut out at a speed of 24 metres per second (79 ft/s) and was rated for a maximum survivable speed of 60 metres per second (200 ft/s). Projected annual energy yield at a mean wind speed of 9.3 metres per second (31 ft/s) was approximately 12 GWh.

Rotor and induction generator were mechanically coupled by a gearing mechanism consisting of one spur gear and two epicyclic gears. Feed-in to the power grid was realized using a set of motor–generators that was largely identical to that later used at Umspannwerk Neuhof (), one of the few electrical substations that allowed for electricity import from the GDR. The rotors were constructed using steel walers, and in cross section consisted of a steel core, an outer skin and fibreglass reinforcement rods.