Huge offshore wind farm to use recyclable turbine blades
A wind turbine at the Ormond Offshore Wind Farm in the Irish Sea. As governments around the world try to ramp up their renewable energy capacity, the number of wind turbines around the world is only set to rise, which in turn will increase pressure on the sector for sustainable blade recycling solutions.
Ashley Cooper | Documentary about Corbis | Getty Images
A major offshore wind farm under construction in the waters off the coast of the Netherlands will use recyclable blades from Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, the latest in a string of companies trying to solve what has turned out to be a problem for the wind energy sector.
In a statement on Thursday, Swedish energy company Vattenfall said some wind turbines at the 1.5 gigawatt Hollandse Kust Zuid facility will use Siemens Gamesa’s RecycableBlades. These blades, according to Wattenfall, use “a type of resin that dissolves in a low-temperature, slightly acidic solution.”
This, the company explained, allows the resin to be separated from the other components of the blade – carbon fiber, wood, fiberglass, metal and plastic – “without significantly affecting their properties.” The components can then be recycled and used again.
The offshore construction of Hollandse Kust Zuid, which will use 140 wind turbines, began in July 2021. It is jointly owned by Vattenfall, Allianz and BASF and is scheduled to enter service in 2023.
Industry headache
The question of what to do with wind turbine blades when they are no longer needed is a headache for the industry. This is because the composite materials that the blades are made from are difficult to recycle, meaning that many of them end up in landfills when they reach the end of their useful life.
As governments around the world try to ramp up their renewable energy capacity, the number of wind turbines around the world is only set to rise, which in turn will increase pressure on the sector for sustainable blade recycling solutions.
Vattenfall is one of several companies dedicated to recycling and reusing wind turbine blades, a goal that fuels the idea of creating a “circular economy” where waste is minimized and products are repurposed and reused.
Earlier in June, the Spanish energy company Iberdrola said it has set up a company with FCC Ambito that plans to recycle components used in renewable energy installations, including wind turbine blades. FCC Ambito is a subsidiary of FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente.
In a statement at the time, Iberdrola said the company, known as EnergyLOOP, would develop a blade recycling facility in Navarre, northern Spain.
“The initial goal will be to recover wind turbine blade components – mainly glass and carbon fibers and resins – and reuse them in sectors such as energy, aerospace, automotive, textiles, chemicals and construction,” the company said.
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