The Pinnacle Wind Farm project extended the operating life of Clearway Energy Group’s wind farm, helping to provide clean and reliable energy for years to come.
The Bechtel-Reed & Reed joint venture was contracted to design and construct the replacement of the existing wind turbine generators for more efficient wind turbine generators. The companies expanded the existing foundations and recycled 23 2.4 MW wind turbine generators. At the peak of demolition, four tower components were removed daily. The project recycled approximately 7,000 gross tons of steel and 800 gross tons of fiberglass.
Challenging terrain
The project team installed 23 new 2.4 MW wind turbine generators across three miles atop of the ridge in Mineral County, WV. The steep terrain is ideal for wind conditions but challenging for the installation of wind turbines measuring 269 feet (or 82 meters) in height. Completing a re-power project with existing end users required close coordination with many trades to ensure the tight project schedule was executed effectively and worker safety was maintained as a priority throughout the life of the project. Within four months of mobilization, the project team successfully complete the demolition sequencing so that it would not interfere with the foundation modifications required to meet deadlines for the delivery of the wind turbines components.
The wind farm generates enough clean energy to power 14,000 households, offsetting 128,625 tons of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) a year. The repowering of Pinnacle Wind Turbines increased generation capacity by 16%.
Wind technology for tomorrow
The completion of this project in November 2021 marked the first wind power project for Bechtel’s Clean Energy and Renewables business line.