Repowering wind farms

Repowering wind farms to install 72 MW of capacity for Italian wind power company

ERG Power Generation hired CESI to provide the final design for repowering two wind farms with a total capacity of 37.26 MW, provided by 53 sub-1 MW turbines.

The windfarms are located in the Apennines, some kilometers away from a number of small villages in the Campobasso province in Southern Italy. The area is partially farmed and used as pasture.

The repowering initiative involves substituting the existing turbines with 16 180ml 4.5 MW, turbines with an installed capacity of 72 MW.

CESI performed the following activities:

• Layout definition balancing the need to maximise power production and to respect planning constraints with regard to landscape, distance from houses and streets, water courses and restricted areas
• Geological survey and geotechnical assessment
• Design of civil works including tracks, turbine installation sites and foundations
• Design of drainage and stabilisation systems
• Design of cableduct tracks and improving electrical connection to the Italian national transmission network
• Design of end of life decommissioning programme
• Specialised checks including flicker analysis to assess visual comfort and blade impact analysis to evaluate safe distances from properties
• Planning of construction site set up
• Management plan for excavated soils and relevant chemical analysis
• Cost estimate
• Environmental impact assessment and assistance with authorisation process