Giant wind turbine topples over hours before official start

Officials in Germany are investigating the collapse

The remains of the tower of a wind turbine stand in the forest in Haltern, Germany on Thursday. DPA via AP

Broken into pieces, with a stump no higher than a tree, a giant wind turbine now lies in pieces in a German forest after collapsing.

The structure, whose rotor blades reach a length of 239 metres, toppled over only hours before it was scheduled to go into service.

Officials are investigating what caused the collapse. Police do not suspect sabotage.

The turbine, near the western town of Haltern, was connected to the power grid six months ago but was due to be officially started on Thursday.

Like many countries, Germany is trying to increase its use of renewable energy such as wind and solar as part of a transition away from fossil fuels and nuclear power.

More than a quarter of its electricity is generated by wind power and the country has more than 26,000 wind turbines.