Spain Replaces 44 Wind Turbines With 10, Recycles 98%

Fewer turbines, more power, and almost zero waste. That's the winning formula from Spain's Montes de Cierzo wind farm, where 44 aging turbines just made way for 10 state-of-the-art replacements that will produce twice the clean energy.

The numbers tell an impressive story. The wind farm in Navarra increased its capacity by 50 percent, jumping from 60 to 90 megawatts, while annual energy production is expected to double to 300 gigawatt hours. That's enough to power tens of thousands of homes with cleaner, more affordable electricity.

But the real breakthrough is what happened to those old turbines. Statkraft, Europe's largest renewable energy producer, achieved 98 percent waste recovery during the dismantling process. Over 1,900 tonnes of steel, nearly 4 tonnes of copper, 300 tonnes of fibreglass, and more than 100 tonnes of equipment found new life through recycling or reuse.

"Not only does it deliver clean, affordable energy, it also reduces the impact on local communities and the environment," says Barbara Flesche, Executive Vice President for Statkraft in Europe. The company has pledged never to send wind turbine blades to landfill.

The project added another modern twist by including battery storage. A 14.26 megawatt battery system will store excess energy and release it when needed, smoothing out supply and stabilizing prices for consumers.

The Ripple Effect

More than 250 people, mostly locals from Navarra, invested 5 million euros in the project, making it Spain's largest citizen co-investment initiative for renewable energy. They're not just watching the energy transition happen. They're funding it and benefiting from it directly.

The community dimension matters because wind repowering works best when locals see tangible benefits. Replacing older, smaller turbines with fewer, more powerful ones means less visual clutter on the landscape and more community buy-in for future projects.

Spain's approach offers a blueprint for aging wind farms across Europe. With an entire generation of turbines reaching retirement age, repowering presents an opportunity to multiply clean energy capacity on existing sites, skip lengthy permitting battles for new locations, and keep thousands of tonnes of materials out of landfills.

The second phase will replace 41 more turbines with just 4 new machines. When fully completed in 2027, the transformed wind farm will stand as proof that the best path forward sometimes means building less to achieve more.