Case study: Revamping and Repowering

Reviving Brindisi

The Brindisi project saw the acquisition and subsequent revamping and repowering of a portfolio of 10 solar plants, co-ordinated and delivered by Bluefield’s in-house team across development, engineering, construction, asset management, and investment.

This involved the updating or replacement of faulty or old components across each site, particularly those that no longer correspond to their original specifications, which is known as revamping. Then, where possible, increasing the system’s power capacity while remaining within the space limits of the existing plant, which is referred to as repowering.

At acquisition, the 10 plants within the portfolio had an aggregated capacity of 7.2 megawatts, which was finally raised to 10.5 megawatts following the completion of the revamping and repowering works, outperforming our initial expectations of additional repowered capacity.

As these sites were of a particular vintage, the engineering team focused mainly on the replacement of faulty equipment and improvements with new technology, such as higher capacity modules, which freed up space to install additional capacity.

Following the revamping and repowering works, the portfolio is forecast to generate circa 20 million kWh, with the capacity to power circa 7,889 homes with circa 8,746 tonnes of CO2 avoided. This represents a notable uplift and one that adds tangible value.

In addition, the portfolio became more attractive for refinancing which may facilitate additional investment into other repowering works and potentially the building of new plants, which may add value to investors and contribute towards the energy transition.