In 2021, Siemens Gamesa reached a significant milestone in the wind industry by developing the world’s first recyclable wind turbine blade. Aptly named the RecyclableBlade, this is the first turbine blade to find commercial use offshore and be recycled once the blade’s working life ends.
Siemens Gamesa has installed sets of these new blades at the 342-MW Kaskasi Offshore Wind Farm in the German North Sea. The company also expects to deploy these recyclable wind turbine blades in future offshore wind farms and other future projects.
What Is The RecyclableBlade?
The RecyclableBlade, which the company first produced at the Siemens Gamesa blade factory in Denmark, is like a normal turbine blade. The only difference is the use of a new type of recyclable epoxy resin system’s chemical structure that allows the blade to efficiently separate from the other components at the end of its working life.
The recycling process begins with immersing the blade in a heated, mild acidic solution, separating the resin from the fiberglass, plastic, wood, and metal components. This mild process ensures the materials reclaimed from the blade remain undamaged.
Afterward, Gamesa recovers the separated components of the blade and prepares for secondary use by rinsing or drying. Manufacturers use these materials in new products that match the technical properties of the components of usual consumer goods.
Why Is The RecyclableBlade Necessary?
The RecyclableBlade could resolve the long-standing waste problem of wind power. The root of the waste issue lies with the wind industry’s lack of cost-efficient ways to recycle the composite materials of the blades of a wind turbine.
While the other components of a wind turbine are recyclable, the existing ways to reuse or disassemble turbine blades for materials are few. Until now, components that have reached the end of their lifecycle ended up in landfills regardless of turbine sizes. These blades will account for over 72,000 tons of waste in the United States over the next 20 years.
The Global Wind Energy Council projected that more than 200-GW of new offshore capacity will exist by 2030. With this in mind, Siemens Gamesa thought it was crucial to introduce a recyclable alternative to conventional turbine blades to prevent further waste.
Siemens Gamesa, pioneering wind circularity, launched the RecyclableBlade to assist in the global quest to tackle the climate emergency. Wind Circularity, as CEO Andreas Nauen describes it, is a concept where its elements contribute to a circular economy of the wind power industry.
The invention of the world’s first recyclable wind turbine blades was a significant step toward making turbines fully recyclable. With the widespread commercial use and production of the RecyclableBlade for offshore customers, Siemens Gamesa estimates that 200,000 blades could be recycled and avoid ending up in landfills.
The Challenges Of Recycling Turbine Blades
Wind turbine blades need to be disposed of or recycled when the turbines are at their end-of-use stage. When turbines have reached the end of their lifecycle, the operators can opt to have them undergo a process called repowering.
Repowering involves keeping most of the turbine’s infrastructure but upgrading the blades with larger, more technologically-advanced ones. The operators then transport them for recycling or disposal.
Taking these blades apart for materials is costly, often requiring enormous and expensive equipment. With the cost of recycling in mind, most wind farm operators dispose of these blades in landfills instead.
The materials of turbine blades also make it difficult to reuse them efficiently. Manufacturers usually cast these blades using glass, carbon fiber, wood, and a resin system. The resin binds all the components together, which is challenging to separate from the other materials upon decommissioning.
The Future Of Recyclable Wind Turbines
Apart from the 38 turbines with recyclable blades at the Kaskasi wind farm, Siemens Gamesa is also working with one of its major customers, EDF Renewables, to deploy more sets of the RecyclableBlade in future offshore projects.
EDF Renewables, a French-owned clean energy company, partnered with Siemens Gamesa to produce wind turbines for two of its wind projects in the United States; a 241-MW wind project in Texas and a 246-MW wind project in New Mexico.
Siemens Gamesa also aims to make its wind turbines fully recyclable by 2040. Gregorio Acero, the company’s Head of Quality Management & Health, Safety, and Environment, stated they aspire to produce turbines that can be taken apart for their materials and used for new relevant applications at the end of their lifecycle.
Siemens Gamesa’s efforts to become carbon positive and help the world transition to a circular economy are under its ambitiously progressive 2040 Sustainability Vision. Through tangible examples like the RecyclableBlade, the company is currently leading technological development in the renewable energy industry and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future.
Conclusion
The increasing popularity of renewable electricity is thanks to the international community’s initiatives to transition away from fossil fuels. Among all renewable energies, wind power has the most potential to replace natural gas, coal, and fossil fuels as the world’s leading energy source.
Siemens Gamesa, a renewable energy giant, is making strides in developing sustainable alternatives to conventional energy sources. With their cutting-edge technology, the company can generate renewable electricity and provide clean energy to most parts of the world.
Siemens Gamesa’s RecyclableBlade will become the foundation of future offshore wind power plants as the company’s contributions to the renewable energy industry are undeniably exceptional. Their development of these revolutionary wind turbine blades is a significant step towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.