What’s happening? Nadara, one of Europe’s largest independent power producers, has unveiled a sustainable decommissioning strategy for Beinn Ghlas Wind Farm in Argyll, Scotland. Developed in partnership with UK-based specialist ReBlade, the strategy will seek circular destinations for materials removed from the site during the decommissioning process. Operational since May 1999, Beinn Ghlass includes 14 600 kW wind turbines generating 8.4 MW of energy. Nadara intends to seek consent to replace these turbines with larger, more efficient ones, increasing the farm’s capacity to 50 MW. The decommissioning strategy will be integral to the redevelopment planning application. (Power Engineering International)

Why does this matter? The typical working life of a wind turbine is around 20-25 years, and the first wave of decommissioning those built in the late 1990s and early 2000s is well underway. Currently, it is possible to recycle up to 95% of a wind turbine’s materials as they are predominantly made of steel alongside copper and aluminium. However, recycling turbine blades remains challenging as they are commonly made from fibreglass-reinforced polyester, epoxy or carbon fibre – composites that are hard to separate. It has been estimated that 43 million tonnes of blade waste will be created globally by 2050. Today, much of this waste is sent to landfill or incinerated, highlighting the pressing need to identify and adopt sustainable alternatives.  

A wide-scale problem, a scalable solution? – While Nadara has not provided details about the types of solutions it intends to explore, progress is being made towards scalable blade recycling technologies. For example, Danish turbine manufacturer Vestas has discovered a novel chemical process to break down epoxy resin into virgin-grade materials that could be used to build new blades and is working to scale the technology for commercial use. US-based Carbon Rivers has also developed a technology to recycle fibreglass with 99.9% purity using pyrolysis that can be reused for various applications such as automotive sheet moulding compounds or textiles. Meanwhile, Danish start-up Continuum has created a mechanical method to transform blades into composite building materials, aiming to finalise plans for its first factory by the end of the year.

Current regulations – However, until these technologies are fully scaled up and cost-effective, the issue of what to do with today’s decommissioned turbine blades remains. Some players, such as Ørsted, have committed to not sending its decommissioned blades to landfills, instead storing them until they can be recycled. Austria, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands have banned landfilling of blades, and industry association WindEurope has called for similar measures to be implemented across the entire EU by 2025. China’s National Energy Administration has also proposed prohibiting both the landfilling and incineration of onshore turbine blades. Meanwhile, many US states have introduced, but not yet passed, legislation to ban blade landfilling or to require turbine companies to take back their blades.  

Promising developments – Going forward, it will be essential to investigate more sustainable materials to build turbine blades, and there has been some promising movement in this area. For instance, researchers at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed a bio-derivable resin that could be used to manufacture turbine blades. Dubbed PECAN (PolyEster Covalently Adaptable Network), the material can be repeatedly recycled using a mild chemical process to be reused to make new blades.  

Wooden turbines? – Another interesting project has come from Voodin Blade Technology, which recently installed a prototype of its 19-metre wooden turbine blades in Breuna, Germany. The company uses laminated veneer lumber (LVL), which it claims is more sustainable than current materials, is highly recyclable and is more durable than fibreglass blades. Its next step will be to trial larger 60-metre and 80-metre blades.