In the Somme, the renewal of wind turbines allows us to do more with less

One after another, three blades, each weighing 14 tonnes, are slowly dismantled 70 metres above the ground before being lowered to the ground. There, they will be cut up for recycling, at least 95%.

The aim is to renovate the Long Champs wind farm, located in the town of Fienvillers, a few kilometers from Amiens, and operated by the energy company Engie. The cost of the operation is €1,3 million.

The renewal of wind turbines, or "repowering", is the preferred approach of the third Multiannual Energy Programme (PPE3); this makes it possible to increase capacity while limiting the construction of new parks, in order to "reconcile acceptability" by the population and "competitiveness".

The new machines will be slightly larger, with a blade tip height of 130 meters compared to 110 meters previously, and more modern.

"The technology has evolved significantly," emphasizes Samuel Renard, Managing Director in charge of renewable energies in France at Engie. "We therefore have very significant performance gains. We are able to produce more electricity with fewer wind turbines, 65% more energy."

At Longs Champs, production will jump from 15 to 25 gigawatt-hours (GWh) per year, which will cover the annual needs of 11.000 inhabitants compared to 6.500 until now.

Wearing a protective helmet and work boots despite the sweltering heat, Baptiste Planckeel describes the operations, which began in early May.

"The first phase involves laying out the components on the ground and cutting them up for packaging and recycling," explains the site manager. "Then, in June, we will dismantle" the concrete bases.

The end of operations is planned towards the end of the year but the new wind turbines will produce their first electrons as early as September.

And contrary to popular belief, the old ones are recycled after they are dismantled. On a previous site, the recycling rate reached 97%, assures Baptiste Planckeel.

Some components are resold, steel and copper are recovered, the composite material from the blades is ground up to be incorporated into fiber-reinforced concrete or used for energy recovery in cement production.

Taxation and acceptability

Engie operates 180 wind farms in France, comprising 1.300 turbines with an installed capacity of 2,5 gigawatts. This represents approximately 10% of France's total onshore wind power capacity and is equivalent to the output of two nuclear power plants.

On average, they are 11 years old, but 25% are over 16. The energy company plans 4 to 6 renewal projects per year, representing approximately 450 MW of installed capacity.

But while wind turbines are sometimes criticized, Samuel Renard assures that "repowering" does not raise any objections from local residents. "There is a very high level of acceptance," he affirms.

Parks generate tax revenue for local authorities. And when park production increases, the royalties also increase. In Fienvillers, which has about 700 inhabitants, the royalty is €110.000 per year, of which €30.000 goes to the municipality.

The constraints lie elsewhere: apart from administrative simplification if the increase in blade height does not exceed 33%, all impact studies on birdlife, biodiversity, acoustic and landscape impact must still be redone.

Above all, "80% of wind farms in France are subject to military radar constraints," explains Samuel Renard. "Many projects are not accepted by the army, or are limited in blade tip height."

As a result, "wind power is struggling and coughing a bit in France," he continues. He reports having installed wind turbines in Italy with a diameter of 170 meters, or 220-230 meters in height to the blade tip.

This has a direct effect on the price of the electricity produced. "You will produce a lot more energy. And so we have a significant impact on the bills," up to 10, 15, 20 euros per megawatt-hour, according to him.

With wind turbines of this size, the Long Champs park would only have two left, he assures.