Statkraft has been the beneficiary of more than 38 million euros in the second call for the Circular Repowering program (Repoten 2), managed by the Institute for Diversification and Energy Saving (IDAE), an organization dependent on the Ministry for Ecological Transition, which channels European NextGenerationEU funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
The energy company will allocate these grants to the repowering of the wind farms located in the Galician Serras Faro-Farelo, in the provinces of Lugo and Pontevedra, which total 168 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity, to the two Aerosur wind farms, with 54.4 MW, in Cádiz (Andalusia), and to the Páramo de Poza complex, in Burgos (Castilla y León), with 100 MW of capacity.
With this economic support, Statkraft will undertake the modernization of these wind assets, which will involve a total investment of over 300 million euros, as indicated by the company in a statement released this Wednesday. The plans also include the installation of energy storage systems using batteries.
Modernization of existing wind farms
In the case of the Galician wind farms, Statkraft plans a comprehensive intervention in the Serras Faro-Farelo wind environment, focused on the modernization of operating assets and the reinforcement of the renewable capacity of the area. The company will remove 80 wind turbines, in service since 2005, to replace them with 25 "latest generation, more efficient machines with greater production capacity".
After the execution of these actions, the project will allow for increased renewable energy production, improved utilization of wind resources, and progress towards a more efficient configuration of the infrastructure in the area. Furthermore, Statkraft plans to incorporate a battery storage system with 127 MW of installed capacity and a storage capacity of 254 megawatt-hours (MWh).
In Cádiz, the La Herrería and Pasada de Tejeda wind farms, which form the Aerosur complex, will go from the current 34 wind turbines to a maximum of nine machines, with a "slight increase" in power. At this site, a battery system with 13 MW of installed capacity and a storage capacity of 38 MWh is planned.
In the Burgos municipality of Poza de la Sal, the Páramo de Poza I and II wind farms, which together have an installed capacity of 100 MW, will also be renovated with higher-performance wind turbines. The company plans to replace the 130 existing wind turbines with 14 new units.
Wind Repowering and Batteries as a Strategic Focus
Statkraft has been selected in this second call for the Circular Repowering program for all the projects it submitted, "which confirms that the company's strategy in Spain, which prioritizes wind repowering and hybridization with batteries, is in line with the country's objectives for advancing the energy transition."
According to the company, "thanks to the technological development experienced over the years, repowered wind farms are not only more efficient and generate a greater amount of clean electricity – contributing to the reduction of polluting emissions – but they also significantly reduce their impact on the environment," emphasizing that the new wind turbines are quieter and incorporate bird protection systems, such as detection and stop radars to avoid collisions.
The multinational highlights that this upgrade process allows "us to continue taking advantage of the best locations, in terms of wind resource and existing electrical infrastructure development, but in a more efficient way and reducing its environmental impact." Currently, Statkraft is working on its second wind repowering project in Spain.
In the Navarrese wind farm of Montes de Cierzo, where it foresees an investment of 100 million euros, the company has already dismantled the first 44 wind turbines and installed the first ten turbines, and is advancing in the final phase of the project, in which it is replacing 41 wind turbines with four new ones, in addition to incorporating a battery system.
Its first repowering was carried out in the Malpica wind farm, in the Galician municipality of the same name, one of the first actions of this type in Spain. At the end of 2017, the company completed the renovation of this farm, reducing the number of wind turbines by almost 90% and managing to double its production.