Older German wind farms are increasingly undergoing repowering

Alongside the construction of new wind farms, Germany is increasingly seeing so-called repowering, in which old turbines are replaced with more modern machines. Spanish company Qualitas Energy is also focusing on repowering retired wind farms in Germany and has announced the acquisition of additional projects. Overall, repowering has accounted for a growing share of wind power installations in Germany in recent years, reaching more than a third last year.

Although Germany kick-started a boom in wind power at the beginning of this century, the pace of construction has slowed considerably in recent years. Since 2017, annual additions to installed onshore wind capacity have slowed to 1 to 2 GW, with a slight improvement over the past two years. In addition to building new wind farms, repowering—replacing retired turbines at existing sites with more modern machines—can also help increase installed capacity.

The trend towards greater use of repowering has been particularly evident since 2020, when old wind farms began to gradually reach the end of their 20-year operating support. In some cases, developers may find it more profitable to replace old turbines with larger, more modern ones rather than continue operating them. According to the German Wind and Solar Energy Agency, repowering accounted for as much as 37% of new installations last year.

While gross growth in installed onshore wind capacity in Germany amounted to 3.2 GW last year, the net increase was 2.5 GW after accounting for repowering and the capacity of decommissioned plants. In some federal states, repowering projects made up more than half of newly commissioned capacity. As more and more wind farms reach the end of their 20-year operating support, Germany’s repowering potential is likely to grow further in the coming years.

Spanish company Qualitas Energy is also highly active in repowering retired German wind farms. It recently announced that it had acquired three more wind farms with a total installed capacity of 17.6 MW. After repowering, their installed capacity is expected to nearly triple to up to 51 MW.