GES – Global Energy Services, with more than 30 years of experience in engineering services and construction of renewable energy projects, has undertaken its first wind power repowering project in Aragon. It is the Muel wind farm in Zaragoza, built during the late 1990s and owned by RWE Renewables Iberia.
At Muel wind farm 27 wind turbines with a capacity of 16.2 MW will be replaced by three turbines with a capacity of 6.6 MW each and a total capacity of 19.8 MW. It is also one of the first wind farms in operation in Aragon to carry out a repowering process.
Construction began in April with the dismantling of the old foundations, the medium-voltage grid and the construction of three new foundations that will support wind turbines of more than 160m in vertical height. In addition, the project requires the upgrading of the evacuation infrastructures, including the wind farm’s current electrical substation. Once these works are completed, the new turbines will be installed and they are expected to be fully commissioned by the end of 2025.
RWE Renewables Iberia has entrusted GES – Global Energy Services with the execution of this important project, thanks to the capacity of GES to develop highly specialised works and the successful collaboration between both companies in other renewable projects, such as the construction of the REA wind farm in 2022.
José Luis García Donoso, CEO of GES – Global Energy Services, said:
“We are looking forward to working with RWE on our first wind repowering project. The Muel Wind Farm is a great example of the immediate future of wind assets with more than 20 years of operation where increased efficiency, focus on sustainability and the reduction of visual impact are key drivers for the repowering works”.
This first wind repowering project coincides with the recent creation of a Services division in GES, which allows the company to take integral responsibility for repowering projects, taking advantage of the synergies between the Construction and Services divisions.
Repowering: a great opportunity in Spain
The repowering of Muel is an opportunity for the region of Aragon and for the renewables sector, as it will increase the installed capacity and therefore the renewable energy production of the park with fewer turbines (24 less), while reducing the visual impact of the project.
By the end of 2024, 1.4 GW of wind power capacity in Spain was 25 years old or older and 8.4 GW was 20 years old, which means that there is great potential for repowering wind farms in the country, having only modernised a little more than a dozen wind farms so far. The repowering will increase the production of renewable energy by installing more efficient turbines and improve integration into the electricity system thanks to the introduction of more efficient, state-of-the-art technology.
The Muel repowering project receives 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 – NextGeneration.
