The question of what to do with wind turbine blades when they are no longer needed is a headache for the wind energy industry since the composite materials from which the blades are made are difficult to recycle.
While other turbine parts can be reused or recycled, the blades end up in landfills at the end of their life. As governments worldwide try to ramp up their renewable energy (RES) capacity, the number of wind turbines is only set to rise, which will increase pressure on the sector for sustainable blade recycling solutions.
An offshore wind farm being built in the waters off the coast of the Netherlands is set to use recyclable blades from Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, one of the companies trying to solve the main environmental problem of the wind energy sector, according to CNBC.
In a statement, Swedish energy company Vattenfall said some of the 1.5 GW Hollandse Kust Zuid facility wind turbines would be produced using a low-temperature, slightly acidic solvent-based resin. This property of this type of resin, as explained by the company, allows, after its service life, to separate it from other components of the blade – carbon fiber, wood, fiberglass, metal, and plastic. The pieces can then be recycled and reused.
Vattenfall is one of several companies dedicated to recycling and reusing wind turbine blades. Earlier, Spanish energy company Iberdrola said it had set up a firm with FCC Ambito that plans to recycle wind turbine components, including blades.
“The initial phase will be the recovery of wind turbine blade components, mainly glass and carbon fibers and resins, and then plans to reuse them in the energy, aerospace, automotive, textile, chemical, and construction industries,” the company said. In June 2021, Danish company Orsted announced that it would “reuse, recycle or remanufacture” all turbine blades from its wind farms around the world after they are decommissioned.
At the same time, General Electric’s renewable energy division and cement maker Holcim struck a deal to explore the possibility of recycling wind turbine blades. In January 2020, another wind power giant, Vestas, said it aims to produce zero waste turbines by 2040.