Repowering of Wind Farms

Dear Colleagues,

It is a well-known fact that wind energy has been strongly developed in recent decades. Additionally, it will continue to play a central role in the energy mix of many countries, even more so in the present context of global warming, where decarbonization is under discussion as a part of the solution. Gradually, wind farms that were comissioned toward the end of the 20th century will be reaching the end of their life cycle. Therefore, stakeholders will face some decisions in this regard in coming years. Once a wind farm reaches the end of its life, dismantling it can be one option. However, there is also the possibility of repowering it, and there are some aspects to be considered in this case, such as whether only a part of or the whole existing infrastructure must be updated. When a wind farm has been in operation for a certain amount of years, data collected during this period of time become available and can help build on the knowledge about the wind resource, which leads to obtaining a better prediction of future operation; this can also condition the above-mentioned decision-making process. Therefore, scientific, technical and economic considerations are involved when a wind farm is going to be repowered.

The goal of this topic is to analyze the advancements in studies regarding wind farm repowering. Proposals on how to face repowering of wind farms in order to help optimize the use of wind resources are expected to be submitted to this topic.

Prof. Dr. Andrés Elías Feijóo Lorenzo
Prof. Dr. Daniel Villanueva Torres
Topic Editors