RE-POWERING


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RE-POWERING THE INDUSTRY


A recent study published by Ziegler et al 2018, calculated that 12% of the installed wind turbine capacity in Europe was older than 15 years. This share increases to 28% by 2020.


These wind turbines will soon reach the end of their designed service life, which is typically 20 years. As a consequence, the wind industry needs to prepare for upcoming challenges, such as maintenance of aging assets, assessment of structural integrity, lifetime extension decision making and decommissioning of turbines. Lifetime extension is appealing in that it can increase returns on investment of existing projects, but experiences to date are limited.


HISTORY


The early windfarms in the UK came into operation in the mid/late 1990s. Between 2020 and 2025, those early windfarms will reach their 25th anniversary. From 2025 onwards, the number of ‘maturing’ windfarms will increase. Planning permissions for onshore windfarms in the UK generally require decommissioning


and restoration after 25 years.


Turbine performance has also increased during this period. Just over 15 years ago the first 1+MW turbines were installed in the UK; five years later 2+MW turbines were common; and in 2006 the first 3MW turbine was installed.


MOVING FORWARD If renewable energy targets continue to be part of government policy, it is important to consider re-powering existing windfarm sites, otherwise decommissioning will reduce the amount of renewable energy, which will need to be replaced by developing new sites.


With the cut of subsides on onshore wind by the UK government many of the developers are questioning what will be the best option to take by


the end of the lifetime Re-powering, Recertifying or Decommissioning.


RECENT CONFERENCE CONCLUSIONS


One of the conclusions that came out from the Onshore Asset Management Conference, promoted by Renewable UK, recently, was that due to the uncertainty on the UK renewable policy developers will focus on recertifying their wind turbines by extending their lifetime.


RE-POWERING CASE HISTORY The first Re-powering Project in the UK was Delabole in Cornwall. This windfarm was the first commercial wind farm in the UK completed and commissioned in 1991 by the Edwards family. It opened in 1991 with 10 turbines of 400kw each. In 2011 those turbines were replaced with four turbines totalling 10MW. Good Energy


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www.windenergynetwork.co.uk


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