CALGARY, Alberta (Jan. 31, 2024) — Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR), a subsidiary of Enverus, the most trusted energy-dedicated SaaS company, has released a report looking at how onshore wind capacity additions in the U.S. have changed over time and why repowering older projects is gaining momentum. The report concludes with an evaluation of wind repower economics and screens for optimal repower targets in the U.S.
“In this environment of rising costs, a wind repower has significant upside over a new build and developers are starting to take notice,” said Scott Wilmot, vice president at EIR. “More developers are opting to repower instead of building new wind plants in an effort to reduce capex and operations and maintenance costs, and boost power production. Repowering can often be done under existing premium-priced power purchase agreements (PPAs) that have remaining term. Given the status of the aging wind fleet and the turbine efficiency gains that have been achieved, we expect repowering momentum to continue in the U.S. going forward.”
“Depending on PPA price, repower economics can be preferable to a new build if a 5% capacity factor gain can be realized. This is a low benchmark to clear given the turbine efficiency gains and degradation we have observed. Projects older than 12 years (pre-2012 vintage) can realize capacity factor gains of 10%-20% through a repower — this makes repowering an easy economic decision,” Wilmot said.
Key takeaways from the report:
- As new-build wind power projects have become economically challenging, developers are increasingly looking to refurbish old ones. Wind capacity currently being repowered totals nearly 7 GW, which equals the amount of new build under construction.
- Depending on PPA price, repower economics can eclipse new build when a 5% capacity factor improvement can be achieved. EIR finds repowering has the potential to boost capacity factors by 10%-20%. Projects older than 12 years are optimal repower targets.
- EIR identify 261 potential targets in its database representing almost 21,000 MW.
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EIR’s analysis pulls from a variety of Enverus products, including Power & Renewable solutions within the Enverus PRISM® platform.
Members of the media should contact Jon Haubert to schedule an interview with one of Enverus’ expert analysts.
About Enverus Intelligence Research
Enverus Intelligence ® | Research, Inc. (EIR) is a subsidiary of Enverus that publishes energy-sector research focused on the oil, natural gas, power and renewable industries. EIR publishes reports including asset and company valuations, resource assessments, technical evaluations and macro-economic forecasts; and helps make intelligent connections for energy industry participants, service companies and capital providers worldwide. EIR is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a foreign investment adviser. Enverus is the most trusted, energy-dedicated SaaS platform, offering real-time access to analytics, insights and benchmark cost and revenue data sourced from our partnerships to 98% of U.S. energy producers, and more than 35,000 suppliers. Learn more at Enverus.com.
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