GE Renewable Energy announced at the AWEA Wind power Conference that the company has completed over 2,500 repowering upgrades, covering 4 GWs of capacity at 36 different wind farms across the US since 2017. The company said it expects to repower an additional 3 GW of units for 11 customers at over 25 new wind farms by the end of 2020, reflecting robust demand for the service. The company highlighted its capability to repower non-GE wind turbines, noting that two of the projects are for equipment originally supplied by other equipment manufacturers. Customers who have taken advantage of GE Renewable Energy’s repowering services include NextEra, E.On, and Mid American Energy amongst other leading players.
Repowering involves replacing older units with new, higher capacity turbines or retrofitting them with more efficient components – in both cases, significantly increasing wind farm production. Vikas Anand, GE Renewable Energy’s CEO, Americas Onshore Wind, said, “Repowering existing wind turbine technology is a complex endeavour, requiring the ability to blend new technology and equipment with aging machines.” The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated that annual US wind repowering investment could grow to USD 25 billion by 2030.
