Pennsylvania Catches Wind Farm Repowering Fever – CleanTechnica

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Pennsylvania is not particularly known for its wind energy resources, but the state hosts some of the first utility-scale wind farms ever built in the US. That makes it ripe for picking the low-hanging fruit of wind farm repowering, in which out-of-date turbines are replaced with powerful new technology.

Wind Farm Repowering Overcomes Some Humps

Wind farm repowering refers to replacing older wind turbines with new ones on the same site. Due to improvements in turbine power and efficiency, the result can be an increase in capacity without the need for new land (see more wind repowering background here).

Wind farm repowering can enable developers to avoid delays or outright cancellation that can beset new wind proposals. Much of the environmental impact assessment and other site-related obstacles have already been settled out, including grid connection issues. Still, other hurdles can arise, as illustrated by the recently completed North Allegheny wind farm repowering project in Pennsylvania’s Cambria and Cumberland counties.

The North Allegheny repowering project comes under the umbrella of Deriva Energy, a recent rebrand of Duke Renewable Energy that is now in the Brookfield portfolio. The project involves a turbine height maxing out at 437 feet above ground level, which touched off a series of communications with the Department of Defense. Last year the DOD and the project hammered out an agreement that protects the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s surveillance radars in Pennsylvania while enabling the wind project to proceed.

“The parties have focused on de-conflicting these activities and agree that the terms below will allow the mutual goals of the parties to be met, including the protection of the radars, which promotes national security, and protection of the National Airspace System, while supporting military readiness,” reads a filed copy of the agreement.

Another potential obstacle cropped up in relation to the required distance from a nearby transmission line. As described by the local news organization Latrobe Bulletin earlier this year, one of the new turbines would overstep the original, standard setback. However, in case of catastrophic failure, the turbine is still far enough away from the transmission line to avoid hitting it.

“The transmission lines are just over 481 feet from the turbine. The current setback allowance is just over 482 feet, but the new setback distance would be just under 439 feet,” the Bulletin explained, adding that the developer was working through a waiver process with local officials and the line owner, First Energy.

More Clean Kilowatts From The Same Wind Farm

North Allegheny was commissioned back in 2009 with as a 70 MW wind farm sporting thirty-five 2 MW G87 turbines from Gamesa. Online information indicates that the repowering project involves 33 new V110 wind turbines from Vestas, to arrive at a total capacity of 73 megawatts.

I’ve reached out to Deriva to confirm my sources. In the meantime, a look at the V110 indicates that the repowered wind farm will slightly out-do its original capacity, even though short by two turbines. Vestas describes the V110 as a 2-megawatt turbine capable of operating in 2.2 megawatt mode, which would account for the capacity improvement.

“This turbine allows you to increase productivity by opening up low-wind sites which were previously regarded as non-viable,” Vestas explains.

“With its 54 m blades, the V110-2.0 MW® IEC IIIA delivers a notable rotor-to-generator ratio producing a remarkable capacity and yield at low- and medium-wind sites,” Vestas adds.

Wind Farm Repowering & The Inflation Reduction Act

It’s also notable that Vestas manufactures wind turbines in Colorado, enabling Deriva Energy to take advantage of domestic tax credits under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

Deriva was also able to leverage tax credits that come under the IRA’s Energy Community provisions, and the company is not shy about crediting the IRA with supporting the economic viability of wind farm repowering. In a press release earlier today, the company described North Allegheny as its first repowering project in Pennsylvania and suggested that there may be more to come.

“This groundbreaking transaction underscores Deriva’s position at the forefront of the renewables industry in advancing new transaction structures designed to both accelerate the energy transition and support American manufacturing and job creation,” the company explained.

Deriva’s Senior Director of Finance, Chris Maslanka,also noted that the company broke new ground by deploying the Domestic Content and Energy Community tax credit provisions of the IRA for a wind farm repowering project.

“These incentives play a pivotal role in our long-term investment strategy of driving economic growth, fortifying American manufacturing, and supporting  our communities,” he said.

Wind Farms Rising In Pennsylvania

It’s not just Deriva. Other renewable energy developers have been eyeballing the wind farm repowering market in Pennsylvania, including the leading firm Exus. Earlier this year, Wind Power Engineering reported that the company’s Exus Renewables North America got the greenlight to repower the Twin Ridges wind farm in southwestern Pennsylvania. The project was originally commissioned in 2012 with a capacity of 139 megawatts.

The wind farm will get new nacelles and blades, while the existing turbine towers and foundations will be re-used. Exus anticipates a 30% increase in output, resulting from the replacement of outdated equipment with contemporary technology.

Not surprisingly, Vestas suppled the new nacelles and blades for the repowering project along with hubs and adaptors for the turbine towers, all made in the US. The company is also supplying the proposed 114-megawatt Rogue’s Wind project in Pennsylvania.

Under the purview of the firm Competitive Power Ventures, Rogue’s Wind represents another way of circumventing opposition to new wind projects. The developer aims to repurpose a former coal mine in Cambria and Clearfield counties for the new wind farm.

“The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) remains a game changer for expanding renewables in the U.S. and supports our recent regional milestones,” Vestas observed in a recent post on its LinkedIn page.

Game changer indeed. Group Senior Vice President Morten Dyrholm underscored how the Biden administration has nailed down a leadership position on energy policy through the IRA.

“To stay on track with the 1.5 degrees pathway, we need more countries to dial up policy measures in support of renewable energy,” he observed.

Keep your eye on Pennsylvania for further developments, as the IRA kicks into high gear and new wind technologies enable developers to optimize the output from the state’s less-than-optimal wind resources.

Photo: The wind repowering movement is enabling states like Pennsylvania to maximize less-than-optimal wind resources and squeeze more energy from aging wind farms (courtesy of US DOE).