Overview of German Wind Industry Roots - Wind Power for the World: The Rise of Modern Wind Energy - page 425

program incentives for private were ofered. The Aeroman
machines generally performed well. Some of these 20 can still
be seen in operation. By the mid-1980s, more than 300 Aeroman
machines were shipped to Alaska, California and many other
locations worldwide. For American locations the rated power was
increased to 40 kW. The turbine proved very successful. Aeroman
units can still be seen in California.

Figure 18.12 Aerial view of an Aeroman wind farm at Tehachapi Pass,

California, 2010. More than 300 machines were shipped to
California in the mid-1980s (Photo: Arne Jaeger).

MAN continued production until the late 1980s when the
company decided to give up the wind energy sector. Through
daughter company Renk, MAN had acquired Tacke Getriebe. The
license was transferred to Jacobs Energie, Heide, northern Germany.
Jacobs up-scaled the turbine to 33 kW and further modified it. Of
the new 33 kW turbine some dozens were produced, mainly for
customers in northern Germany. Like many of the 1980s Aeroman,
the Jacobs turbines are still operative today.

Tacke/GE: 1985-2012

The story of well-known GE Wind Energy begins in the mid-1980s
when Tacke was ofered a license production by Dr Günter Wagner,