Regulators and the wind industry are paying increasing attention to repowering existing wind farms to ensure prime wind sites continue to be exploited and renewable energy targets are met
As wind turbines near the end of their planned operational lives or their output is much reduced in comparison to modern turbines, operators must decide whether to extend the working life of existing machines through judicious component refurbishment or to “repower” existing sites by replacing old turbines with new units. While installing new turbines is generally more costly than reconditioning, the former has the advantage of being more powerful thanks to larger rotors, bigger generators and taller towers capable of reaching stronger winds and generating more revenue.
In Europe, repowering involves the complete replacement of turbines, including foundations, the turbine tower, electrical equipment and often the electrical cables. In most cases the old structures are replaced by fewer, bigger turbines, testament to significant increases in turbine sizes over the years. In just five years, the average rated capacity of wind turbines installed on land globally has grown from just under 2 MW in 2014 to 2.4 MW in 2018, as registered by FTI Consulting, a global intelligence business, in its Global Wind Market Update annual report. ...
Try FORESIGHT - 30 days for €29
Blades are posing the biggest waste challenge as increasing numbers of wind turbines reach the end of their useful life
Placing wind and solar photovoltaic facilities on the same site may sound attractive in theory, but the reality is more complicated and many experts suggest this will only make sense in a limited number of cases
Heavy industries are slowly starting to wake up to the reality of the energy transition, but full decarbonisation of the steel, cement and petrochemicals sectors is a significant challenge that will require new processes and significant amounts of clean energy
Energy efficiency is vitally important, but policy makers and industry leaders could do more harm than good if they do not ensure that energy savings support wider environmental and sustainability goals, argue Luis Gabriel Carmona and Kai Whiting, researchers at the University of Lisbon, Portugal
An ambitious tax on carbon emissions globally and the reinvestment of carbon revenues in energy efficiency could be game changers for the energy transition even if most countries still remain reluctant to entertain such ideas
Accelerating the energy transition will be good news for jobs, the economy and climate, says a major report published in September 2018