The projects, with a total capacity of 50 MW across two sites, involve a combination of blade upgrades, generator refurbishments, and installation of new controllers and pitch components, and it is set to be fully completed and commissioned in Q1 2025. With the extended lifetime, the two wind assets will continue to operate efficiently and generate renewable energy benefiting the state of Iowa.
Melf Lorenzen, CEO at Deutsche Windtechnik US, said: "We are thrilled to repower these two wind projects and many more to come. Through repowering, we have the opportunity to upgrade some of America's most reliable wind turbines, equipping them to operate even better for more than a decade to come."
Why Deutsche Windtechnik?
DWT was selected as the contractor for the two Iowa projects due to its specialized expertise with the Mitsubishi MWT-1000A platform and established track record of servicing at this platform technology. Furthermore, DWT holds the majority market share in the United States for servicing Mitsubishi turbines, underscoring its capabilities and extensive experience with the MWT-1000A turbine model.
Additionally, DWT’s comprehensive Operations and Maintenance (O&M) services—compliant with the Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship (PWA) provisions—ensure ongoing support and optimization beyond the repowering phase.
Repowering Under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA)
The IRA includes substantial provisions for promoting sustainability and renewable energy solutions. Under IRA’s 80/20 repowering regulation, wind asset owners are able to retrofit and upgrade wind turbines, in an effort to continuing to provide environmental and economic benefits to their customers and local communities.
"Wind repowering projects are driven to generate continued economic and employment benefits through the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements of IRA". reported Melf Lorenzen. "The IRA has significantly enhanced the potential of partial repowering of wind assets in the United States, and DWT is exceptionally well-positioned to serve this market. We look forward to leveraging our deeply rooted engineering capabilities to repower many more wind farms in the future."
