Exus Renewables North America, a subsidiary of Madrid-based renewables asset manager Exus Management Partners, is investing approximately $200 million in the repowering of its recently acquired Twin Ridges wind farm in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
The Pittsburgh-headquartered Exus arm has already initiated the repowering process for the 139-megawatt (MW) wind farm. This initiative involves replacing the nacelles and blades of the existing turbines, while retaining the towers and foundations.
Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS) is serving as the technology partner for the project, supplying American-made nacelles, hubs, blades, and tower adaptors through its Vestas American Wind Technology branch.
Exus Renewables North America anticipates that the repowered Twin Ridges wind farm will boost power production by 30%.
“As the wind energy industry faces increasingly complex obstacles to growth, including a nearly 3 gigawatt interconnection queue of renewable energy projects trying to connect to the grid, repowering has become a path to help meet clean energy goals,” stated Jim Spencer, CEO of Exus Renewables North America. “Thanks to these upgrades, the Twin Ridges project will generate clean, reliable, and renewable power – and millions in community investment – to the region for decades to come.”
In March of this year, Exus Renewables North America acquired Twin Ridges and three other wind farms in Pennsylvania, with plans to repower three of them by 2024-2024.