Statkraft has launched the second and final phase of repowering at its Montes de Cierzo wind farm in the Navarrese municipality of Tudela, completing regulatory approvals for a programme that will run through 2026, the company said.
The Norwegian renewable energy producer said the roughly €40m investment will see 41 turbines that are about 25 years old dismantled and replaced with four new machines, alongside the installation of a battery energy storage system.
Statkraft has already completed an earlier phase of the project, replacing 44 legacy turbines with 10 modern units. Once fully repowered, the site will operate with 14 turbines, down from 85 previously, reducing the overall turbine count by about 84% while increasing efficiency and lowering visual impact, the company said.
Installed capacity at Montes de Cierzo will rise from 60MW to 90MW, with estimated annual electricity production expected to increase from 145 gigawatt hours to around 300 GWh.
As part of the second phase, Statkraft plans to hybridise the wind farm with a lithium-ion battery system providing 14.26MW of power and 28.51MWh of storage, designed for two-hour charge and discharge cycles. The company said the system will help manage production peaks when grid capacity is constrained and improve overall operational performance.
It added that the hybridisation project has been selected for public support covering up to 24% of the battery investment under Spain’s IDAE programme for innovative hybrid storage projects, funded through the country’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
Storage systems play a growing role in balancing renewable generation, allowing energy to be supplied when wind output is low and helping to stabilise electricity supply and prices, Statkraft said.
The company said it is developing additional hybrid projects totalling 65MW across wind and solar sites in Galicia, Andalusia, Navarra and Extremadura.
Statkraft also operates the 139.2MW Renovables del Cierzo complex in Navarre, made up of four wind farms commissioned in spring 2024, supplying electricity equivalent to the consumption of about 123,000 homes and avoiding more than 112,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
