Repowering of the wind farm of Sidi-Daoud Tunisia

The lifetime of wind farms (estimated between 15 and 20 years) causes several problems for the electricity companies, namely the increase in the maintenance and operation cost as well as the system performance degradation. To solve the problem, the right solution is to replace the old wind turbines by more powerful and new ones which have higher efficiency and performance. This action is called repowering or Re-Equipping. In this context, the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas (STEG) is launching a project of Repowering partially the Sidi-Daoud wind farm (Step A) located in the northeast of the country. This article begins by a presentation of the Sidi-Daoud wind farm and the used type of wind turbines. Then, we study the feasibility of the Repowering of the Wind Farm and assess different technologies of wind turbines in order to meet the requirements of the STEG Grid Code and enhance the efficiency of the Wind Farm. Then, we simulate the impact of new wind turbines on the National Electrical Grid and we compare between the performances of the old technology and the new one. Finally, we conclude.