MART, Texas (KWTX) – The Prairie Hill Wind Farm is replacing all 100 wind turbines with 63 new models that the company says are more efficient.
Engie, the company behind the wind farm, said the decommissioning process for the turbines that span parts of Limestone and McLennan counties will take about six months.
Residents in the area may hear brief explosions as part of the process.
“For certain short periods of time, crews will be working to what’s called ‘fell’ turbines. So, on any given day in which this work is taking place, approximately 5 to 10 turbines would be felled at one time,” said Julie Vitek, vice president of public affairs at ENGIE North America Inc.
Although the number of turbines will be cut nearly in half, Engie said the farm will still produce the same amount of power.
“Those 63 turbines would still be capable of producing 300 megawatts of power for the Texas grid. There will just be fewer of them,” Vitek said.
After each turbine is taken down, it is stripped down to its components and taken to locations across the state to be recycled.
“Trucks will be using local roads in accordance with the road use agreements that we have with Limestone and McLennan counties. Any kind of damage that could occur, to the roads, in the transport material, we will fix,” Vitek said.
Vitek said Engie is paying for the project. After decommissioning is complete, the company expects the installation process for new turbines to take about a year.
Copyright 2026 KWTX. All rights reserved.