Exus Management Partners has been selected to lead on the repowering of Illinois’ Big Sky Wind Farm by Vitol. The deal follows Vitol’s acquisition of the project from a BlackRock-managed fund earlier this year.
Exus will play a central role in Vitol’s plan to invest more than $250 million to upgrade the project, with the repowering expected to increase Big Sky’s annual energy output by 60% by year end 2022. The scheme will entail the installation of new Vestas wind turbines using the existing foundations and towers.
Exus will provide asset management services for the project and handle the permitting for its repowering, enabling Vitol to optimize returns and continue enhancing its participation in the green energy transition.
Exus’ involvement will incorporate a variety of environmental and community activities, including support for regional wetland and prairie reserves, and sponsorship of local cultural events.
Wind farms typically have a lifespan of around 20 years, but individual turbines can begin to lose productivity due to wear and tear within a decade of their construction. With approximately 40 GW of US wind capacity now over 10 years old, including Big Sky Wind Farm, it is becoming increasingly cost-effective for owners of older wind farms to replace turbines with new, more advanced models.
Mike Speerschneider, Development Partner at Exus, said: “Repowering is a rapidly growing trend in U.S. wind. Increasing numbers of projects are approaching a decade or more in their life cycle, experiencing associated losses in efficiency. Larger and more efficient turbine technologies are helping projects generate electricity at a level that makes the investment worthwhile and supports the energy transition. Exus is proud to be working alongside Vitol at the forefront of US wind repowering.”
Andrew de Pass, Head of Renewables at Vitol Inc., said: “Big Sky is well placed to deliver clean energy to our commercial and industrial customers, as well as the highly liquid PJM power market, and is the latest example of our ongoing commitment as one of the market leaders in the shift towards renewable energy. We are excited to be working with Exus to optimize the project, while aligning with our premium standards of ESG investing.”
News item from Exus
Filed Under: News, Projects, Repowering
While they do not state the age of the units being removed, at only 10 – 15 years old, I hope that they can be repurposed, and not just recycled. Installing them in another location, perhaps with more advanced and longer wings would help out some country, and get them wind power.
It looks like these older wind turbines have a 80 meter rotor sweep area, and the replacements will be 110 meter models, of about the same 2.2 MW power output rating, with a reported 60% increase in expected annual electricity output.
Somehow leaving this wind farm alone, and installing the new 100 turbines in a new location might make more electricity in the long run (having the older 100 turbines still putting out some power). Yet it is a matter of getting locals to allow a new wind park, and this one only needs a short study to upgrade the turbines, without replacing any towers, thus very quickly upgrading, VS a year long process to install a new wind park.