A Future Market for Turbines from Repowering Projects

In Central Europe an increasing number of used wind turbines are becoming available at attractive prices following repowering projects. In Europe it is difficult to reinstall these turbines because they require a lot of space and this is the main bottleneck for further expansion of wind energy. A solution could be to export these wind turbines to developing countries so that the energy produced could substitute for diesel fuel. This would decrease the dependence of these countries on more and more expensive fuel imports. Lahmeyer International has undertaken a feasibility study for a wind–diesel system, and a summary is presented in this article.