Q Energy has announced plans to repower the Souleilla-Corbieres wind farm in France.
Originally built starting in 1999 and commissioned in 2001, the site in Treilles in Aude will see the 16 old turbines replaced with new 80-metre models.
This will increase power production from around 60GWh annually to 71GWh per year, with the number, positions and dimensions of the wind turbines to remain unchanged.
The reconstruction work is currently underway with commissioning scheduled for the end of 2023.
In addition, 99.4% of fleet components will be recycled or reused through the circular economy. 100% of the site’s steel has been reprocessed and reused, while components of the turbines were sold as spare parts, pieces of blades given to a local artist (eight tonnes or 3% of the blades) and the rest was sold for the creation of innovative furniture (228 tonnes or 97%).
Managing director of Q Energy France Jean-Francois Petit said: “During the construction of this park, in 2000-2001, our team had less than 10 employees, today we are 240 and the sector has changed in dimension with us.
“Carrying out one of the first repowering projects in France represents a strong symbol of the new stage reached by Q Energy and by the renewable energy sector.”