12 April 2023

Wind farms: How are they built?

In Spain, wind farms produce 23% of the energy, which is equivalent to the electricity for about 17 million homes. Wind energy is one of the best alternatives to energy from fossil sources and in Spain there is great potential. We will explain step by step how a wind farm is built.

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Where are the wind farms located?

The first step in the development of a wind farm is its location. This involves finding sites that are environmentally compatible, socially fair, sustainable and, of course, have an acceptable level of wind resources to ensure that the investment is feasible.

As explained by Joaquín García Latorre, Project Execution Manager at Enel Green Power España (EGPE), the following are main factors taken into account when deciding the location of a wind farm:

The technical and environmental feasibility of the site, taking the information available in different databases and geographical information systems into account.
The availability of nearby grid nodes for the energy produced to be transported.
The availability of the renewable resource, that is the wind in the area, a fact that will directly affect the energy production of the wind farm. This will require a wind measurement campaign to be undertaken in the area in order to estimate the wind farm's future energy production. This requires the installation of measuring towers and a data collection campaign lasting more than one year; although data from numerical models based on reanalysis may be used for preliminary analysis.
The financial and economic feasibility of the project.

All this data is used to make a study of the location of the wind turbines and if the result is positive, the administrative phase can begin. Once it has been admitted for processing, the wind farm project goes on public display, after which allegations and comments are made by all the affected bodies to assess the compatibility of the wind farm.

How are wind farms built?

Once the location of a wind farm has been decided and all the allegations and comments have been received, the design of the wind farm is adapted to make it compatible with all the information received with a view to minimising its impact.

Once this has been done, an Environmental Impact Statement (DIA in Spanish) is issued in which the authorisation of the wind farm is resolved with regard to the environmental aspect. Following this, the design is readjusted to ensure that the conditions established in this report are met in order to be able to obtain the corresponding Preliminary Administrative Authorisation (AAP in Spanish). The design for construction can then be made in order to obtain the Administrative Authorisation for Construction (AAC in Spanish), which is when work on construction can begin.

Who is involved in the construction of a wind farm?

A very high number of players are involved throughout the process. These are essentially the following:

The body that grants administrative authorisation. In wind farm projects with an installed capacity of more than 50 MW, this is the body responsible for energy in the General State Administration (the General Directorate for Energy Policy and Mines). However, for projects not exceeding 50 MW the Autonomous Community is the responsible body with regard to energy.
The environmental body, responsible for preparing the environmental impact statement.
The autonomous body, with responsibility for urban planning and where appropriate, for the approval of the instrument or urban authorisation required to grant the building permit.
The Town Councils in the affected municipalities, which are responsible for granting the building permits for the execution of the project. They also play a decisive role due to their status as reference stakeholders.
The bodies consulted during the environmental assessment process, which usually include a large number of areas corresponding to different administrations: Natural heritage, cultural heritage, landscape, water, public health, roads, mountains, etc.
The willingness of the owners of the land on which the future series of wind turbines will be located to sign occupancy agreements is critical for the success of the project.

What is the environmental impact of a wind farm?

When starting a project to construct a wind farm, a detailed analysis is always made of the possible social and environmental consequences. The objective is always to minimise the impact in order to take advantage of the benefits of the assembly of the wind turbines without having negative consequences in the local context.

In this regard, an Environmental Impact Study (EIA in Spanish) is a key document in the development of the project, since it is essential to make an environmental assessment in accordance with current legislation and in compliance with national and international standards relating to best practices and the sustainability of the project.

This document seeks to minimise, or even nullify the environmental effects that a wind farm could have on the environment. This involves making and applying a series of modifications to the project in order to correct it and achieve a 0 impact or as close as possible to 0.

Deer in the vicinity of one of our wind farms.

As soon as the project becomes operational, there is always continuous monitoring of all the variables included in the Environmental Monitoring Plan that is within the scope of the EIA and that need to be approved by the environmental administration.

Although it ultimately depends on the location and technology of the project, there is generally a review of the soils, vegetation, waters, fauna (especially bird life), noise, shade, erosion and drainage and the effectiveness of the corrective measures that can be applied. The duration of the monitoring varies, but it usually ranges from a minimum of five years to the entire useful life of the installation.

The challenges of a wind farm

As a result of innovation and technological development, the most technical aspects with regard to the assembly of wind farms has been well established. Currently, the most complex aspect is usually to find new sites that meet all the necessary requirements. In the end, we should bear in mind that we need sites with connection, acceptable wind resources and that are compatible at an environmental and social level.

As explained by Rubén Rivadulla Torreiro, an expert in wind business development at EGPE, "given the great growth of wind turbine farms in the last 20 years, the best locations have already been occupied, so this technology increasingly has to be installed in places with less resources. This means that optimising costs to make new sites profitable is undoubtedly the main challenge for the sector."