RWE has completed commissioning of its fully repowered Muel wind farm in the Aragon region near Zaragoza, Spain.
In eight months, the company dismantled 27 aging Nordtank 600KW turbines with a total capacity of 16.2 megawatts and replaced them with three modern Nordex N163/6.X turbines delivering 19.97 megawatts. Despite using the same grid connection, the upgraded site is set to more than double annual energy production, increasing output from the equivalent supply of 9,400 Spanish households to 21,000 households.
The repowering project achieved a near-zero waste footprint, with 99.82 percent of materials from the retired turbines recovered or recycled. This performance earned the Muel project the ZeroWaste certificate from Bureau Veritas Group. RWE has also secured a Power Purchase Agreement with an undisclosed offtaker for the newly commissioned asset.
Katja Wunschel, CEO of RWE Renewables Europe and Australia, said that Muel showcases the advantages of modern repowering. She noted that cutting the number of turbines from 27 to three while more than doubling production reflects the benefits of high-efficiency technology and responsible decommissioning practices. Many components from the old turbines will be reused across RWE’s fleet, and the blades will be recycled and repurposed.
Circularity specialist RenerCycle played a central role in dismantling the old wind farm and processing all components. After 27 years of operation, the turbines were disconnected in April 2025. RenerCycle ensured that 1,350 components will be refurbished for future use, 1,825 metric tonnes of ferrous material will be recovered, and more than 99.8 percent of materials will be recycled. The 81 blades will undergo recovery processes to extract materials such as fiberglass and resins for use across multiple industries.
The Muel repowering initiative is supported by funding from the European Union’s NextGenerationE program under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The project aligns with Spain’s broader push to modernize aging onshore wind infrastructure. Roughly 10 gigawatts of Spain’s installed onshore wind capacity will reach the 25 year mark, offering significant potential for repowering to boost renewable generation, minimize environmental impact, and enhance grid integration through modern turbine technology.
RWE Renewables Iberia continues to contribute to Spain’s clean energy goals with a portfolio that includes 18 onshore wind farms totaling around 500 megawatts and seven large scale solar plants with around 300 MWac of capacity across the Iberian Peninsula.