A transitioning wind turbine for land or offshore use having a tower base; a wind turbine tower attached to the tower base; a wind turbine attached to the wind turbine tower having a hub and an outer perimeter with spokes disposed between the hub and outer perimeter; a set of vanes carried by the spokes; a generator configured to engage the outer perimeter of the wind turbine and convert a rotational energy of the outer perimeter into power; a lifting tower having a pivot disposed at a proximal end of the lifting tower; a cable attached between the lifting tower and the wind turbine tower; and, wherein the lifting tower is configured to transition from the upright position to the tilted position as the wind turbine tower transitions between the horizontal position to the vertical position.