Repowering older wind turbines benefits the environment

 

Replacing older, less efficient wind turbines with fewer more modern machines is a policy which has clear environmental as well as economic benefits.

 

At Marienkoog, northern Germany, close to the North Sea, 15 older turbines, some of which were erected in the 1990s, have been replaced with just seven new models. Constructing these Siemens 3.6 MW turbines has increased the power capacity of the wind farm from 6 to 25 MW. 

   

In the whole of the Galmsbüll wind park, of which Marienkoog is part, a total of 38 older turbines have been replaced with 18 newer ones. The result has been to rationalise the way in which the turbines are placed in the local landscape.

 

Scattered individual turbines, often placed near farmhouses, have been replaced with a more organised layout, says Torsten Levsen, a farmer who erected his first turbine in 1992 and now runs a wind farm development company.

 

Although the new turbines are taller, people have accepted them because they appreciate the benefits they bring, says Levsen. Two of the turbines are sited on his own land.

  

“The majority of people in Galmsbüll are positive about the wind farm,” he says, “and they would like to have more turbines in the future.”

 

The new turbines at Marienkoog also save more carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere. An estimated 62,400 tons of CO2 is saved in a year by their operation.