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 less reliable 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 Lord Norman Foster, and their towers, which are painted light green at the base to blend in with their surroundings. As of April 2007 Enercon had installed 11,006 wind turbines, with a total power generating capacity of 11.703 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 has production facilities in Germany (Aurich and Magdeburg), Sweden, Brazil, India and Turkey. Enercon is prohibited from exporting their wind turbines to the US until 2010 [1] due to infringement of U.S. Patent 5,083,039 [2]. Enercon claims their intellectual property was stolen by Kenetech (US Windpower, Inc.) and patented in the US before they could do so. Kenetech made similar claims against Enercon. According to the European Parliament; Kenetech seeking evidence for legal action against Enercon for breach of patent rights on the grounds that Enercon had obtained commercial secrets illegally. According to an NSA employee, detailed information concerning Enercon was passed on to Kenetech via ECHELON.[1][3] 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.
Sources
- ^ a b Die Zeit: 40/1999 "Verrat unter Freunden" ("Treachery among friends", German), available at archiv.zeit.de
- ^ Enercon vs. International Trade Commission and Zond Energy Systems. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
- ^ Report A5-0264/2001 of the European Parliament (English), available at European Parliament website
External links
- www.enercon.de - Enercon's home page
- www.enerconindia.net - Enercon India Ltd.
- www.enercon.pl - Polish web site about Enercon (Polish language)
- www.agroenergetyka.pl - Polish web site about RES with information about Enercon (Polish language)
