Hackberry Wind Farm

All Turbines Now Restored at Hackberry Wind Farm

Six months after work began in September, the refurbishment of Hackberry Wind Farm is now complete. All 72 turbines have been upgraded and returned to service, restoring the project’s full 166 MW of renewable electricity capacity.

Last fall, Dauntless Energy marked the return of the first refurbished turbine. Today, the full fleet is operational. The project’s completion reflects months of focused work to upgrade the fleet and align the commercial structure for the years ahead.

A Capital-Efficient Path Forward

Upon taking over management of Hackberry, Dauntless redirected the project from a capital-intensive repowering plan to a focused refurbishment strategy — a shift that materially altered its long-term outlook.

Detailed assessments confirmed that Hackberry’s core infrastructure, including towers and foundations, remained well suited for extended operation. Dauntless concentrated investment on the upgrades that most directly affect performance and lifespan, reducing capital expenditures by approximately 90 percent compared to the originally assumed repowering path.

The outcome is a fully restored asset operating at utility scale, achieved with significantly lower capital intensity and a lower overall footprint. The team extended the project’s productive life by more than 10 years while deploying roughly 10% of the capital a full-scale alternative would have required, preserving existing revenue streams and avoiding unnecessary material use and downtime in the process.

Aligning the Commercial Foundation

Operational renewal at Hackberry was matched by a coordinated commercial realignment.

Within a six-month window, Dauntless successfully extended and aligned key agreements across the project’s capital structure. This included extending Power Purchase Agreements, executing tax credit arrangements, and negotiating long-term service agreements, bringing them all onto a unified timeline. 

At the same time, the team re-established collaboration with the original turbine manufacturer, securing a new 10-year operations and maintenance agreement. That long-term O&M structure provides continuity of technical expertise while further de-risking performance over the extended life of the asset.

These negotiations reset the project’s commercial foundation in parallel with the physical refurbishment of the fleet. Hackberry now operates with aligned counterparties and a clearer long-term revenue horizon.

What Completion Means for the Portfolio

With the commercial framework aligned, the refurbishment work moved forward in parallel. 

Construction began in September and progressed steadily across the fleet, with each turbine undergoing its individual overhaul plan. 

“This is how we approach mature assets across the portfolio,” said Dauntless CEO Todd Wynn. “We look for ways to extend life, reduce capital intensity, and strengthen the commercial structure all at the same time.”

Hackberry is a clear example of wind asset life extension and optimization executed in parallel with commercial realignment. The project now enters its next operating chapter positioned to continue powering more than 17,000 homes annually through its extended PPA with Austin Energy.

For Dauntless, the successful refurbishment of this utility-scale renewable energy project underscores the value of measured asset stewardship, and the power of aligning commercial, financial, and operational efforts in service of a common goal: remaining a meaningful contributor to Texas’ renewable energy mix for years to come. 

Learn more about how Dauntless extends asset life and strengthens long-term performance across energy portfolios. Partner with us.