We’re finding ways to produce as many green electrons as possible to help the UK ditch gas for good.
Our latest plan has the potential to create enough new power for hundreds of thousands of homes a year, without having to start a single new turbine project from scratch…
Octopus Energy Generation will refurbish up to 1,000 of the UK’s older wind turbines by the end of the decade. Working with turbine manufacturer EWT, we’ll kit seasoned turbines out with the latest technology to give them the power to produce 2-3x more green energy.
Want stronger, more powerful spins? Lengthen your turbine blade!
How do you repower a wind turbine?
When it comes to wind turbine blades, size does matter. You can get two to three times more power by increasing the blades length and adjusting the tower height to enable a more efficient structure. So we’re identifying the older generation of turbines and doing just that.
The process to build any new energy generator can be long and difficult. Everything from upgrading the local networks to getting planning permission can take ages. It typically takes many years for a new turbine project to get fully operational. Actual construction can be completed in a few months.
We already have the most spot on data for wind speeds on site and local topography. Consultations with the local community are far quicker because they’ve already had a turbine in their neighbourhood – we’re just adjusting what’s already there. Because a lot of the most time-consuming work is already done, we can get more green electrons down the wires in months, not years.
The UK has about 9,000 wind turbines on its shores. Upgrading just 10% of them could unlock enough new power for hundreds of thousands of homes a year.
Repowering wind turbines is quick, easy ‘low hanging fruit’. And while we tune up the turbines we already have, we’re also working to build new wind faster. There’s huge appetite for local green generation: 8,000 communities have told us they want to be part of a local Fan Club that gives them up to 50% cheaper power from their neighbourhood turbine. We’re matching them up with landowners who are keen to host a wind turbine (since it’s a bit like a dating app for renewables, we call it Winder).
Winder, our renewables matchmaking service. Left: Community interest in a local Fan Club. Right: Landowners who’ve signed up to host a turbine to power their neighbours
The super exciting part of all this is where these two projects collide. With their new increased power capacity, these regenerated wind turbines have the potential to become future Fan Club projects too.
Check out our wind turbines in real time!
What does getting power from local wind really mean? How often are the blades spinning? Our Fan Page brings you blow-by-blow data about our local wind generation!
Ever wondered how a wind turbine gets built?
Octopus Energy Generation are building wind farms as quickly and affordably as possible. In this blog, James from OEG talks us through the process.
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