RWE has started the repowering of its Muel wind farm in the Aragon region of Spain, near Zaragoza.
In total, 27 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 16.2MW will be dismantled and replaced by three modern 6.6MW turbines with a total capacity of 19.8MW.
Muel is one of the first onshore projects operating in this region to undergo such an extensive modernisation programme.
Spanish renewables expert GES (Global Energy Services) was awarded the construction contract and has already started initial works.
Commissioning of the new Muel wind farm is planned for the end of 2025.
A power purchase agreement (PPA) for the asset has been secured with an undisclosed offtaker.
Chief executive of RWE Renewables Europe and Australia Katja Wünschel said: “It is time to say farewell to the 27 turbines of our old Muel wind farm.
“They have reliably generated green electricity for 27 years, producing a total of 800 gigawatt hours.
“But this is not the end of the road for many of the components. As circularity and zero waste are key objectives at RWE some of the components will be refurbished and reused in our wind fleet, others recovered and even the blades will be recycled and get a new purpose.
“Soon we will be welcoming the new three state-of-the-art turbines, which will replace the old ones and increase installed capacity. A perfect example of the cost-effective expansion of wind energy in Spain.”
At the end of March, the old turbines were disconnected from the grid after 27 years of service.
Circularity start-up RenerCycle will dismantle the old wind farm and take care of all components.
In total, 1,350 old components will be refurbished for later use in other RWE wind farms, 1,825 metric tonnes of ferrous material will be recovered and 95% of the materials will be recycled.
The 81 blades will be recycled at the Waste2Fiber wind blade recycling plant that Acciona Energía and RenerCycle are developing in Lumbier.