Remember when you upgraded from your old flip phone to a smartphone? Wind farms across America are getting similar upgrades that could change how we power our homes and businesses, according to Electrek.
Take the Twin Ridges Wind Farm in Pennsylvania, which is undergoing a $200 million transformation. By keeping the existing towers but swapping out old parts for new technology, this wind farm will generate 30% more electricity without building a single new structure.
This process, called repowering, is like giving wind farms access to the fountain of youth. The expensive groundwork and grid connections are already there, so upgrading the turbines themselves is a smart way to boost power generation while keeping costs down.
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These upgrades mean lower maintenance costs and more reliable clean energy production. Since most wind farms pay off their debt after about 10 years, they can qualify for fresh tax credits and financing just when they're ready for their makeover.
At Twin Ridges, 40 turbines have already received an upgrade, with more on the way. The project showcases how smart innovation can squeeze more power from existing infrastructure while reducing waste and environmental impact.
"This upgrade will increase the power generation by 30%, which is a lot more power going into the grid," Jim Spencer, CEO of Exus Renewables North America — the company behind the Twin Ridges project — told Electrek. "Repowering will allow it to use more of its allotted grid capacity since wind farms don't operate at maximum capacity 100% of the time."
The future looks promising, with industry experts predicting that up to 50 gigawatts of American onshore wind capacity could be assessed for repowering in the coming years. That's enough potential clean energy to power millions of homes while helping reduce our reliance on dirty fuels.
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