Wind components, repower-driven secondary market.

Yes, in the right context. Vestas V80/V82, GE 1.5sle/1.6, and similar mid-2000s machines often have another 10–15 years of structural life if maintained. The economics work for distributed wind projects in moderate-wind regimes (Class 3 sites), behind-the-meter industrial loads, and developing-market exports where new-turbine logistics are prohibitive. Confirm gearbox + main bearing service histories before purchase — those drive the long-tail cost.

Original OEM serial number, full O&M log including any uptower or downtower repairs, the most recent borescope inspection report (within 12 months), oil cleanliness reports (ISO 4406 codes), and vibration spectrum data if available. For machines that have had factory-overhaul gearboxes installed, demand the certificate of conformity from the rebuilder plus the post-rebuild test bench data.

Blade fatigue is the single biggest risk factor in second-life wind. Demand a recent (within 24 months) full-blade survey including leading-edge erosion mapping, lightning-strike inspections, internal bondline inspections via internal blade access, and any repair history. IEC 61400-23 full-scale fatigue testing is rare on a per-unit basis but the OEM-level data should be available for the blade model. For repower-donor blades, expect to pay 30-50% of new-blade cost; if the price is much lower, ask why.

Sometimes. Tubular steel towers are designed to a site-specific wind class — moving a tower from a Class 1 high-wind site to a Class 3 site usually works, but the reverse usually doesn't. Concrete-hybrid towers are even more site-specific. The bigger reuse barrier is freight: a single 80-100m tower section is 60-80 tons and often requires escorts, route surveys, and bridge engineering. Most tower-section reuse stays within a 500-mi radius of the original site.

IEC 61400-1 turbine classes (IA, IIA, IIIA, IVA) categorize design wind speeds and turbulence intensity. A turbine designed for IEC IA can run safely at any lower-class site; the reverse fails fatigue analysis. Class IIA and IIIA cover the bulk of the US fleet. When evaluating a turbine for site-relocation, a structural engineer should re-run the load case for the new site's wind data — Refound will eventually carry verified site-relocation analyses as part of 3rd Party Verified.

Both appear on Refound. Decommissioning specialists move the largest volume of cycled-out machines and typically know the full history of the project the equipment came from. OEM service organizations (GE Renewable Energy, Vestas Spares & Repairs, Siemens Gamesa Service) carry reconditioned parts with manufacturer warranty, often at a premium. Refound's spec-faceted search treats both consistently — buyers filter on documented condition, not seller type.