SMUD selects Vestas for 86 MW Solano wind project

Vestas V155-3.3 MW wind turbine

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has offered an 86 MW order to Vestas to repower the Solano Wind Project Phase 4 wind farm in California, USA.

Vestas said the order consists of 19 V150-4.5 MW wind turbines, which will replace the site’s current legacy V47-660 kW wind turbines. With this order, the collective Solano Wind Project will have a total capacity of about 300 MW.

“Repowering wind turbines is an efficient solution to extend the life of a wind project, and we’re thrilled SMUD is partnering with Vestas once again on the Solano 4 project phase and utilizing our proven 4 MW platform technology to bring renewable energy to the greater Sacramento area,” said Laura Beane, President of Vestas North America.

“The retooling and expansion of the Solano Wind Farm will further boost SMUD’s clean energy mix with proven clean energy technologies and is a step forward in our vision of eliminating all carbon emissions from the region’s power supply by 2030,” said Chief Zero Carbon Officer Lora Anguay.

The order includes a full Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) contract. Vestas will provide a full turn-key solution with delivery, installation, and commissioning of the turbines.

“Partnering with SMUD each step of the way on this project solidifies the trust and collaboration between Vestas and SMUD,” said Ramit Bajaj, Senior Vice President of Construction & Operations for Vestas North America.

The order includes a 10-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement, designed to ensure optimized performance of the asset. Vestas also extended its multi-year service agreements for the Solano 2 and Solano 3 project phases at the same site.

Turbine delivery for Solano 4 begins in the fourth quarter of 2023 with commissioning scheduled for the second quarter of 2024.