In December 2021 OFGEM quietly announced they are now allowing turbine owners to ‘repower’ with larger machines.
Not many turbine operators seem to know about this at the moment, but it’s actually a huge opportunity for them.
If you own a 80kw Endurance, you could repower (i.e. replace it) with a 225kw turbine, and — this is key — OFGEM will still continue paying your FiT payments, but as a percentage of your new production.
Prior to OFGEM’s announcement in December 2021, if you replaced your turbine with a larger one you would actually have lost your Feed-in-Tariff accreditation.
That’s why the new rule is a ‘game changer’ for many small turbine operators.
How the Repowering Percentage Payment Works
As with most announcements that OPFGEM many, the rules are somewhat open to interpretation!
However, our understanding of the rules are that you receive FIT payments as a percentage of your original turbine’s accreditation.
For example, if your Endurance is accredited for 80 kw, and install a 225kw then you’ll receive FiT payments on 35% — and export PPA payments on the full 100% — of your increased generation.
If you want us to work out how much it’ll increase your generation and revenue then we just need…
1) Your Annual kW production numbers for the last few years (so we can get an average)
2) Your average annual wind speed
3) Your current FiT and PPA rates.
Or if you just want to know how much extra generation you’ll get then we only need (1) and (2).
We can also provide prices for our refurbished turbines and an idea of civil engineering, balance of plant and installation and commissioning costs, so you can work out your ROI. (Which will no doubt be significant – repowering a small turbine can make a huge difference.)
The Biggest Challenge to Repowering any Wind Turbine
Gaining planning consent for wind turbines is always a big challenge.
However, it’s certainly easier to get planning to repower an existing wind turbine, on the basis you already have consent. You simply want to replace it with a larger turbine which will generate more electricity and help your farm cope with rising costs.
Call us if you would like to discuss – telephone 01377 267615