One plant, four times as much green electricity: RWE has successfully completed the modernisation of its wind turbine in Lengerich. In a process known as repowering, the old 1.8 megawatt (MW) turbine was replaced by a more powerful one. The new 5.7 MW turbine at the Emsland location in north-west Germany now supplies around 4,000 instead of 1,000 households with green electricity.
A total of around 50 employees from RWE and various partner companies were onsite throughout the construction period. They ensured that everything went smoothly, from dismantling the plant, which was commissioned in 2003, to installing the new tower, nacelle and rotor blades.
Agata Schallenberg, RWE’s head of construction onshore wind and solar in Germany: “Lengerich is a showcase project for us. The old plant has been reliably generating wind power for more than 20 years. Technological progress meant it was time to move on to a new generation. To plan the delivery of the 80-metre-long rotor blades, we optimised the route in advance using a 2D simulation programme. That enabled us to avoid bottlenecks along the route from the factory in Rostock to Lower Saxony. For the heavy load, we used a special trailer whose axles can be controlled independently of the towing vehicle when cornering. Thanks to everyone involved for their great work.”
RWE climate bonus
The surrounding municipalities also benefit from the repowering of the Lengerich wind turbine. RWE voluntarily pays 0.2 cents to the neighbouring communities for every kilowatt hour produced. Thanks to the more efficient plant, they can expect a fourfold increase in income to around €28,000 per year, compared to €7,000 without repowering.
RWE increases output of existing wind farms
RWE has recently commissioned another repowering project in North Rhine-Westphalia. In the Paderborn district, the new wind turbines at the Elisenhof wind farm generate enough green electricity to supply 5,500 households per year. The dismantled main components of the old wind farm were overhauled in the company’s own workshop and will now extend the service life of identical RWE wind turbines in Spain by 10 to 15 years.
RWE will repower further wind farms in Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, increasing the total capacity from around 41 MW to over 84 MW. The company currently operates around 90 wind farms in Germany – and the number is growing.
Images for media use of the Lengerich wind turbine are available at the are available at the media centre. Credit: RWE