EDPR completes its first wind farm repowering in the US | EDP Renováveis

EDP Renewables (Euronext: EDPR), the world's fourth largest renewable energy producer, through its subsidiary EDP Renewables North America LLC, has completed its first repowering project at the Blue Canyon II Wind Farm, which is one phase of the 423-megawatt (MW) four-phase project located in southwestern Oklahoma. Due to this repowering, the installed capacity of the project increases from 151 MW to 162 MW. It represents a critical step toward extending the longevity and efficiency of this wind farm, which will continue to serve Oklahomans with affordable energy and economic benefits for generations to come.

EDPR NA anticipates the repowering operation of its Blue Canyon II Wind Farm to extend the project's life an additional 20 to 30 years. 73 of Blue Canyon II's 84 turbines were repowered, replacing each turbine's nacelle, blades, and top tower section. The turbines were upgraded from V80 1.8 MW machines to V110 2 MW machines.

It is worth noting that circular economy is one of the key ESG priorities included in EDPR’s 2021-2025 Strategic Update. In this sense, recycling of the decommissioned blades was a firm requirement from EDPR in this repowering as the company is determined to accelerate the adoption of blade recycling practices across its projects.

Since coming online in 2003, Blue Canyon Wind Farm has produced enough electricity to power the equivalent of 94,000 average Oklahoma homes annually. Moreover, it has avoided the use of approximately 753 million gallons of water each year that would have been consumed by conventional generation for the same amount of energy creation, and it has favoured the creation of 64 permanent jobs and 582 temporary construction jobs.

EDPR NA is a wind industry leader in Oklahoma, operating 623 MW of wind energy projects in the state, which generate the equivalent of more than 139,000 average Oklahoma homes’ consumption each year. 

In addition to the four-phase Blue Canyon Wind Farm, which spans Caddo, Comanche, and Kiowa Counties, EDPR NA also operates the 100-MW Arbuckle Mountain in Murray and Carter Counties and the 99-MW Redbed Plains Wind Farm in Grady County. In total, EDPR NA's Oklahoma projects have contributed an estimated $1.2 billion in capital investment in the state. 

Globally, EDPR has an installed capacity to date of 13.6 GW, with North America representing a significant 52% of the portfolio. Specifically, the installed capacity amounts to 7 GW in North America.