• RWE replaces 1.8-MW turbine with more powerful 5.7-MW turbine
• Electricity production at site increased by around 400 percent
• Green electricity for equivalent of around 4,000 households

RWE has been awarded the tender for its onshore repowering project in Lengerich by the German Federal Network Agency’s auction for onshore wind (bid deadline was 1 August). “Repowering” is the process of replacing old turbines with modern, more powerful ones. At the site in Emsland in northwest Germany, this means that RWE is replacing a turbine with a capacity of 1.8 megawatts (MW) with a new 5.7-megawatt turbine. The larger rotor creates a significantly larger area for harvesting wind. As a result, electricity production here can be increased by about 400 percent. Whereas in the past, around 1,000 households could be supplied with green electricity, the new wind turbine has the capacity to produce green electricity for 4,000 households.

RWE has already begun dismantling the old plant, which had been in operation since 2003. The new construction project will then begin, with the large components such as the nacelle or the three rotor blades for the new plant to be delivered in the fourth quarter of this year. The RWE construction team aims to start building the new plant in the winter so that it can start producing green electricity next year. After commissioning, the surrounding municipalities will also benefit from this repowering project, as RWE voluntarily pays 0.2 cents for every kilowatt hour produced to the municipalities in the vicinity. Due to the more powerful wind turbine, the municipalities can expect to receive around 28,000 euros per year, compared to 7,000 euros without repowering).

Agata Schallenberg, RWE’s head of wind energy and solar park construction in Germany: 
“Over the entire construction period, a total of around 50 colleagues, including various partner companies, will be involved, working hand in hand. In repowering projects, our challenge is to ensure that old turbines remain connected to the grid and produce green electricity for as long as possible, while we simultaneously start preparations for the construction of the new turbines. Because every green kilowatt hour counts.”

In Germany, RWE operates around 90 onshore wind farms. The company is working hard to drive forward the expansion of renewable energies and will invest 15 billion euros gross in its green portfolio by 2030.