World News

World News09.04.2024

This old Texas wind farm now makes more power with fewer turbines

QAZAQ GREEN. An old wind farm in Texas just got a second life, and its capacity has gone from 160 megawatts (MW) to 182 MW, Electrek reports.

The Brazos Wind Farm is in Fluvanna, in Borden and Scurry counties, in West Texas. It sits on around 10,000 acres.

InfraRed Capital Investments acquired 60% ownership of the Brazos Wind Farm site last month, but Shell USA continues to operate the site.

Brazos was initially completed in December 2003 and featured 160 1-MW wind turbines capable of powering around 30,000 homes. But Shell redeveloped it, and it now has 182 MW of power generation capacity that can produce enough electricity to power approximately 67,000 homes.

Due to an increase in wind turbine size and more advanced technology, that big bump in generation capacity has been achieved with 122 fewer turbines onsite. Brazos now features 38 next-generation Nordex 5-MW turbines. The new Nordex turbines enable remote monitoring and data generation, plus they’re safer and more reliable.

As for the 160 decommissioned turbines, Shell says it’s contracted the removal and repurposing of 2,100 tons of fiberglass from the blades, and the “material will be repurposed to support the creation of products for concrete, asphalt, composites, and/or bulk molding applications.”

14.05.2024
EU fossil generation below 25% for the first month ever
13.05.2024
Progress on world’s first artificial energy island revealed
10.05.2024
Scientists make electricity from air moisture using bacterial nanowires
10.05.2024
EU keen to deepen renewable energy cooperation with Kazakhstan - ambassador
10.05.2024
Drilling into magma: Risky plan takes geothermal to supercritical extremes
09.05.2024
Record renewables propel the world towards a new era of falling fossil generation
06.05.2024
Advanced 'high-density waterless hydro' energy plant gets green light
06.05.2024
Eurostar aims to have all their trains powered by renewable energy by 2030
04.05.2024
‘World’s first’ wooden wind turbine blades installed in Germany
04.05.2024
Natron to kick off mass-production of long-life sodium-ion batteries
03.05.2024
Tajikistan intends to fully switch to renewable energy sources by 2032 - deputy PM
03.05.2024
Floating solar can power Africa’s energy goals, study finds
02.05.2024
South Korean сompanies to modernize Kazakhstan's power plants, and GRES Topar
02.05.2024
Decarbonization and sustainable development to take center stage at the 11th Annual Downstream Central Asia & Caspian Conference
30.04.2024
Renewable electricity share in Turkey nears 50%
29.04.2024
Sinn Power plans groundbreaking floating photovoltaic system in Bavaria
26.04.2024
Swiss researchers boost efficiency of vertical axis wind turbines
26.04.2024
Rapid expansion of batteries will be crucial to meet climate and energy security goals set at COP28
26.04.2024
Georgia acquires first floating solar power plant
25.04.2024
Wind turbine blades get a sustainable upgrade