ENERCON began its road to economical / ecological success when graduate engineer Aloys Wobben founded the company in 1984. A small team of engineers developed the first E-15 / 16 wind turbine with a rated power of 55 kW. To start with, ENERCON systems still featured gearboxes. However in 1992, the changeover to gearless technology came about with the first ENERCON E-40 / 500 kW. This innovative drive system with few rotating components ensures nearly friction-free energy flow providing outstanding performance and reliability. Mechanical stress, operating and maintenance costs are reduced, and the system’s service life is increased.
Today, all ENERCON wind energy converters are based on the company’s tried and tested turbine concept. Over the past years, new system generations have evolved through constant sophistication of existing components, providing customers with state-of-the-art products. One example of the latest technological innovation is the new rotor blade geometry introduced in 2004. It significantly increases revenue, minimises noise emission while considerably reducing load impact on the wind energy converter.
All ENERCON systems feature a grid connection system which fulfils current grid connection requirements and can thus be easily integrated in any supply and distribution structure. ENERCON’s concept not only offers solutions for normal operation such as reactive power management and voltage control but also for critical situations resulting from network short-circuits or bottlenecks.
Since then ENERCON has been setting new standards in technological design for more than 25 years now. With more than 20,000 wind turbines installed in over 30 countries, ENERCON is also recognized as one of the leading manufacturers at the international level. Research and development, as well as production and sales are constantly evolving. The company’s objective for 2013 is an export share of more than 60 %, gradually increasing over the years to come.