Stafford Infrastructure Diary – Repowering: Charging the next evolution in renewable energy
July 2025 — In Europe, the energy sector is responsible for more than 75% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and by 2030, the EU has committed to reducing net GHG emissions by at least 55%.1 To reach this target, it’s key that the share of renewable energy continues to increase across different sectors of the economy in the EU.
However, traditional greenfield solar and wind project developments can be subject to rising challenges such as grid access, changes to grid infrastructure, based on storage system implementation, land and resource availability and merchant price risk. Given these rising challenges, we are observing a new era in the energy transition process.
The combination of these challenges and the number of project proposals that will struggle to receive a permit for development are beginning to re-shape the investment landscape for renewable energy. We believe this can increase the risk for investors and is present the market with a need to evolve the current process by optimising renewable capacity that is already installed.
Growing capacity through repowering
In our latest whitepaper, we explore the emerging opportunity of repowering existing European solar plants and wind farms to extend their lifespan and value. Through repowering, renewable energy assets can experience a material increase in their capacity and efficiency that will help to meet the EU’s GHG emission reduction targets.
We estimate that upwards of 150 GW of aging wind and solar assets in Europe are ready for repowering, with an additional 62 GW expected by 2028.2
Opportunity for active investment
We believe repowering existing wind and solar assets in Europe, can present an attractive opportunity for investors seeking actively managed, core-plus opportunities with a lower risk profile, carbon and land-use footprint compared to investment in new renewable energy developments. We anticipate that it will have the capacity to play a significant role in scaling Europe’s energy transition over the next decade, as a natural evolution of the renewable energy market.
To learn more about Repowering, download our latest paper.
1 Renewable Energy Directive - European Commission
2 Stafford’s proprietary analysis
