For his Master thesis, Eric Pieper analysed all wind parks in Germany and developed a method to determine the potential for repowering. Repowering refers to the complete dismantling and replacement of turbine equipment at an existing project site – with the aim to install new and more reliable equipment.
To identify whether repowering is profitable for a wind park or not, the 27-year old industrial engineer developed an Excel tool. His greatest challenge: “I had to compare figures which are not really comparable at all“, says Eric Pieper. “My intention was not only to find out today’s potential for repowering, but also whether a later date is economically more attractive.“
Eric Pieper was honoured for his thesis with the IPH Future Award 2017, a prize which is granted for the best student thesis of the year written at IPH.
