RWE to repower German wind farms in ‘adverse conditions’
RWE to repower German wind farms in ‘adverse conditions’ | Windpower Monthly
RWE expects to battle “adverse conditions” as it starts a repowering campaign for two wind farms in Lower Saxony, Germany.
It has already started setting up the construction site and carrying out initial road work, and has cast the first foundation for one of the wind farms.
The developer plans to dismantle 17 older wind turbines and replace them with 11 new, more powerful machines, increasing the two wind farms’ capacity from 30.6MW to 61.8MW.
It plans to replace 11 turbines at a 19.8MW project in Lesse with eight modern ones with a combined capacity of 44.7MW. It plans to replace six turbines at a 10.8MW project in Barbecke with three new ones with a combined capacity of 17.1MW.
RWE expects the repowering to triple the electricity production at both wind farms.
It is cautious of a number of challenges with the projects, however, and noted that its workers will encounter frost on the ground, gusts of wind and cold in February.
The developer also plans to keep the old turbines connected to the grid for as long as possible while repowering.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: wind
Decades of government support for the development of wind energy has resulted in lower costs and a rapidly growing share of electricity generated by wind turbines. Wind in 2019 accounted for 7.3 percent of electrical generation, surpassing for the first time hydropower at 7.0 percent.