Naturgy has begun the technological transformation of the Novo wind farm, located in the municipalities of Valdoviño, San Sadurniño and Narón (A Coruña), which will involve replacing the 25 wind turbines currently installed at the facility with 5 state-of-the-art machines. As part of the project, the existing machines will be dismantled and replaced with more modern and efficient wind turbines, the natural environment of the areas previously occupied by the wind turbines will be restored and the electrical substation will be modernised. The work is scheduled for completion in mid-2026.
The Novo wind farm modernisation project involves an investment of over 20 million euros and is financed by the EU’s NextGenerationEU package as part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, through the Spanish Institute for Energy Savings and Diversification’s (IDAE) Circular Repowering Programme. It will significantly reduce the visual and environmental impact of the facility, while also taking advantage of existing infrastructures such as the evacuation systems or part of the buildings. The new configuration will retain the current 18.75 MW evacuation capacity and generate around 50.5 GWh of clean energy per year, enough to supply around 14,500 households.
A substantial proportion of the materials obtained in the dismantling process will be recycled and recovered. More than 2,000 tonnes will be processed, 80% of which will be carbon steel and 18% cement and aggregates. The remainder will consist of copper, aluminium, fibreglass, wood and PVC, among others. Only glass fibre, which represents a very small fraction of the waste, will be treated by authorised waste managers in accordance with applicable regulations.
With a history spanning more than 25 years, the Novo wind farm has been harmoniously integrated into its surroundings since its beginnings. This repowering project, which is being carried out by Galician companies, not only reinforces Naturgy’s commitment to renewable energy, but also improves the integration of the wind farm into the natural environment and boosts both local economic development and job creation, consolidating the municipalities of Valdoviño, San Sadurniño and Narón as sustainability and energy efficiency benchmarks.
María Landeira, Naturgy’s head of Renewable Project Development in Galicia, stressed that “the repowering of wind farms is an essential part of our growth strategy in the region, where we are promoting three initiatives that will reduce the number of wind turbines from 172 to just 25”. As she explains, “Galicia is a very important region for Naturgy because of its vast wind resources and our close relationship with this land. We will continue to promote projects that drive the energy transition and are respectfully integrated into the environment, as we have been doing for more than a quarter of a century”.
Naturgy, a pioneer in repowering in the region
In addition to Novo, Naturgy is developing two other repowering projects in Galicia: Monte Redondo (Vimianzo), where dismantling work began at the end of April, and Somozas, where the technological transformation started in May. The Monte Redondo wind farm will replace its current 66 wind turbines with 11 state-of-the-art machines that will maintain the installed capacity of 49.5 MW and increase annual production to 200 GWh, equivalent to the electricity consumption of approximately 57,000 homes.
At the Somozas wind farm, the current 81 wind turbines will be replaced with 9 state-of-the-art machines. The new configuration will slightly reduce the installed capacity to 46.4 MW from the current 49.6 MW, but will increase the annual production of clean energy to 168 GWh, equivalent to the electricity consumption of approximately 48,000 households.
Naturgy was one of the first to undertake wind repowering projects in Galicia at the Cabo Vilano wind farm (Camariñas), where in 2016 it replaced 22 wind turbines with just 2 new ones to significantly improve production and reduce the facility’s visual impact.
With this new facility, Naturgy reaffirms its commitment to Galicia and works towards its aim of promoting the transition of the Galician economy towards a sustainable, cleaner and more efficient energy and economic model.
Commitment to Galicia
Naturgy is committed to increasing renewable generation in Spain and especially in Galicia, a region with which the company has a particularly special link. Due to its geographical location and orography, Galicia is an optimal location for this type of facility.
As part of its commitment to renewable energy sources, Naturgy has an installed capacity of 1,847 MW and currently operates 18 wind farms (488 MW), 16 hydroelectric plants (1,253 MW) and 9 mini-hydropower plants (106 MW in Galicia). The company also manages the Sabón combined cycle power plant in Arteixo, A Coruña.
Naturgy is the leading gas and electricity company in Galicia. UFD, Naturgy’s electricity distributor, serves nearly 1.6 million supply points located in 285 Galician municipalities through a distribution network measuring over 60,000 kilometres. Naturgy is also Galicia’s leading natural gas distributor through its subsidiary Nedgia Galicia. As a result, the company has a distribution network that encompasses more than 4,000 kilometres and around 346,000 supply points in 211 Galician municipalities.
In terms of marketing, Naturgy has 214,000 gas customers and 1.3 million electricity customers, representing a market share of around 80% in Galicia. The company has more than thirty customer service centres in the region.