Generating more wind power with fewer turbines in New Mexico

Leeward Renewable Energy moved to cutting edge wind turbines on the repowering of the Caprock Wind Project in New Mexico—and it’s now able to produce more power with fewer wind turbines.

By Paul MacDonald

The state of New Mexico has an abundance of wind, sunshine, and geothermal resources, making it a natural location for renewable energy production and clean energy jobs. Combined, New Mexico is said to have more renewable energy potential than any other U.S. state.

Over the years, some of that potential has been translated into on-the-ground renewable energy projects—and there is more to come. Renewable energy is now the largest source of New Mexico’s in-state electricity generation, with wind power accounting for 37 percent of the state’s total energy generation in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Solar power accounted for 13 percent of New Mexico’s energy generation, behind natural gas and coal.

In particular, with that abundant wind resource, New Mexico has been home to some major wind power
projects in recent years.

But mindful of making the best use of existing wind power projects and sites, the state has also seen some wind project repowerings, from companies that have a long association with New Mexico and its communities—such as Leeward Renewable Energy (LRE).

In early 2025, LRE announced the completion of its Caprock Wind repowering project, located in the east central part of the state, about 20 miles from the state border with Texas, and the Texas panhandle.

The 80-megawatt (MW) Caprock Wind repowering saw the replacement of 80 aging 1 MW turbines with 20 state-of-the-art Vestas 4.5 MW turbines, effectively turning it into a 90 MW project. The upgrades utilize the latest technology, enhancing turbine capacity, reliability, and performance.

Caprock Wind is now delivering more clean energy output while using 60 percent less land, enhancing efficiency and reducing operational and maintenance costs. The repowered facility strengthens long-term energy availability and grid reliability by modernizing the infrastructure and improving operational performance.

The Caprock project is backed by a 25-year renewable energy purchase agreement with Western Farmers Electric Cooperative. 

“LRE remains a trusted partner for Western Farmers Electric Cooperative, playing a key role in meeting rising energy demand with reliable and cost-effective solutions said Gary Roulet, CEO of WFEC. “We are particularly impressed by its innovative approach to the Caprock Wind repowering, which improves efficiency, preserves natural resources, and contributes to long-term economic growth and community well-being.”

Caprock Wind has been a long-standing asset in LRE’s portfolio, since 2004, and the repowering further solidifies LRE’s presence in New Mexico, where the company now has over 300 MW of generating capacity to support the growing demand for energy, said Willem van der Ven, LRE’s Chief Operating Officer. “This repowering significantly boosts our efficiency in clean energy production, optimizes land use, and reinforces our commitment to environmental stewardship and strong community partnerships,” says van der Ven.

Leeward Renewable Energy’s Caprock wind repowering project is a solid example of how current, larger turbines come with increased efficiency—and reduced operating costs. The project is now generating 90 MW, vs. the 80 MW it had been generating, pre-repowering. And the total footprint of the project has been reduced by 60 percent.

He noted that repowerings are not new to LRE—they have repowered eight wind projects over the last six years, and repowerings are now a part of the company’s business model.

“We really feel there are some good opportunities in doing these repowerings,” says van der Ven.

“A repowering of a wind power project really extends the asset’s life,” he explained. “We replace the technology that has been working well for years with newer technology, upgrading aspects of a project, which increases the efficiency, reduces its costs and minimizes the environmental impact.

“There really comes a time when it’s best to replace the old technology with new technology,” he added.

When Caprock was initially built, in 2004, a 1 MW turbine, of which Caprock had 80, was considered large. Wind turbine technology evolved, and a 2 MW turbine became the standard—and today, more projects feature 4.5 MW turbines.

“We had an 80 MW facility with 80 turbines, and we’ve now replaced it with 20 turbines, and are able to generate more power, 90 MW, with Caprock vs. the 80 MW we had before. And the total footprint of the project has been reduced by about 60 percent.”

Caprock is a solid example of how current, larger turbines come with increased efficiency—and reduced operating costs.

So, what does LRE look for in considering a wind project repowering? “We typically look at older assets that have been in operation for 15 or 20 years,” says van der Ven. “It takes a few years to plan a repowering project, so typically when a project is about 15 years old, we will look at what the next opportunities are for the asset. We will look at if there is modern technology that can replace what a project was built with—sometimes, that can mean changing turbines, but sometimes it could mean just replacing the blades or the nacelle.

“So, we are looking at a variety of options when we are repowering projects.”

A repowering project illustrates vividly the advances that have been made in wind turbine technology over the last 20 years—but not just in the size of turbines.

	The Caprock Wind repowering saw the replacement of 80 aging 1 MW turbines with 20 state-of-the-art Vestas 4.5 MW turbines, effectively turning it into a 90 MW project. The upgrades utilize the latest technology, enhancing turbine capacity, reliability, and performance.

“The new technologies are a lot more PLC-driven, with more modern sensors, and they are more reliable operationally,” says van der Ven.

“New wind turbines will typically require one maintenance cycle, of two to three days, per year. Some of the older wind turbines require two maintenance cycles per year, and some older models might require four maintenance cycles—so every quarter you’re in there, doing maintenance work.”

Project repowerings are considered on a case-by-case basis, said van der Ven, but there are usually four options:

• replacing components inside the nacelle and upgrading the turbine blades
• replacing the nacelles and turbine blades
• replacing the tower, nacelles and blades, and leaving the turbine foundations in place
• the fourth option is to replace everything; the foundations, towers, nacelles and turbine blades

“In short, we have a number of options, and depending on the size of the project, what is there now in terms of equipment, its location, we evaluate all these variables on a case-by-case basis.”

Key to all this, of course, is the customer, the offtaker of a project. Over the past 20 years, LRE has built a solid business relationship with the offtaker for Caprock, Western Farmers Electric Cooperative (WFEC).

“We feel the offtaker relationship is critical to the success of any project,” says van der Ven. “The repowering and new agreement has allowed us to continue to build on and extend the relationship with WFEC, and it allows them to plan for their energy needs.”

One of the big benefits of a repowering is that you are building on the existing assets—including the interconnection, the connection to the grid. Unlike companies planning or building a greenfield wind power project, existing projects already have an interconnection in place. There is no need to join what is sometimes a very long queue to get a new interconnection.

The review process also tends to be more straightforward, for a re-powering.

“It really depends on the state that you are in, but generally, the regulatory process we go through for a repower is much less extensive,” says van der Ven.

Caprock Wind has been a longstanding asset in the Leeward Renewable Energy portfolio, since 2004, and the repowering further solidifies LRE’s presence in New Mexico, where the company now has over 300 MW of generating capacity to support the growing demand for energy.

The experience the company has had with repowerings gives it depth and experience when taking on new repowerings, says van der Ven.

“We are now repowering our eighth project, so we have a wealth of experience, and it really opens the door to repowering lots of different assets.” An interesting side note: of the LRE people who worked on the 2025 Caprock repowering, five had worked on the original project, in 2004.

In the case of Caprock, LRE opted for all new turbines, new foundations, new collector systems, and an upgraded substation. “The majority of components in the substation were the same—we definitely made use of the existing infrastructure.”

The project utilized domestically fabricated nacelles, further reinforcing LRE’s commitment to U.S. manufacturing, local sourcing, and a resilient energy supply chain. In line with LRE’s focus on environmental stewardship, over 90 percent of the decommissioned wind turbines are planned to be recycled, diverting more than 15,000 tons of metal and fiberglass from public landfills. The recycled materials are repurposed for various applications, including concrete and mortar reinforcement in steel mills. Additionally, the project land remains a valuable resource for wheat farming and cattle ranching, supporting the region’s agricultural heritage.

LRE replaced the old tie-line with a new tie-line to connect the project to existing substations.

The Caprock Wind repowering supported approximately 180 jobs at peak construction. MasTec Clean
Energy & Infrastructure was the EPC on the project.

“We work with a handful of EPC contractors who are very experienced in the wind and solar business—that way, we are building long term relationships with EPC contractors, so they know what our expectations are, our safety protocols, the technology we deploy,” says van der Ven.

He reports the repowering project went smoothly.

“The terrain is always a little bit challenging in New Mexico, but with good design and good preparation, I think you can overcome any challenges,” he says.

The Caprock repowering means LRE will continue to provide long-term renewable energy jobs in New Mexico’s Quay County.

He added that the repowering allows LRE to continue to strengthen the relationship it has with this region of New Mexico, and continue to provide long-term renewable energy jobs. The company, together with its vendors, has eight full-time employees at the site, and they also utilize local businesses as part of their ongoing operations and maintenance work.

LRE has been part of Quay County since 2004, and van der Ven says they look forward to building on that legacy for years to come. “The community has been counting on us for the last 20 years, in the form of tax support, and now they can get that support for the next 20 years.”

Over the project’s life span, approximately $9 million in tax revenue will help fund county services, education, and infrastructure. Additionally, LRE has made donations to Tucumcari Schools, the Chamber of Commerce, and other important local organizations to further strengthen community programs.

Big picture, LRE is focused on helping to meet increased U.S. energy demand through its robust pipeline of new projects. Domestic jobs and manufacturing are fundamental to its full-lifecycle approach to projects, along with a long-term ownership model and a company culture dedicated to its community partners and protecting the natural environment, says van der Ven

And in addition to new projects, repowerings will continue to be part of the plan going forward. “It’s nice to see how repowering older assets can be part of meeting America’s growing energy demand,” says van der Ven.

Q1 2026