RWE has taken the final investment decision for the Muel repowering project (pictured) in Spain.
The project in the Aragon region near Zaragoza, will see 27 wind turbines with a total capacity of 16.2MW dismantled and replaced by three modern 6.6MW turbines with a total capacity of 19.8MW.
Construction works are planned to start next spring with the dismantling of the old turbines, after which the new ones will be installed.
They are expected to be fully operational by the end of 2025. A PPA for the asset has been secured with an undisclosed offtaker.
The project has received funding from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, established by Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021, through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan – financed by the European Union – NextGenerationE.
Katja Wünschel, chief executive of RWE Renewables Europe & Australia, said: “The need for onshore wind repowering in Spain is significant given the country’s huge wind energy capacity and the ageing infrastructure at many wind farms.
“Repowering these facilities could significantly increase energy output while reducing the land footprint.
“The 27 turbines at Muel wind farm have been in operation for 26 years.
“We are now replacing them with three state-of-the-art turbines and increasing installed capacity at the same time. This shows how important repowering can be for the cost-effective expansion of renewable energy in Spain.”
A total of around 20GW of onshore wind capacity with an operating life of more than 20 years is expected to be installed in Spain by 2030.