Recyclable wind turbine blades make debut in offshore project

The sustainability of the wind energy industry has made important progress this month, with some of the world’s first recyclable wind turbine blades entering operation in the North Sea and the first turbine blades from a Chinese manufacturer debuting with over 95% recyclable materials.

German energy company RWE announced late last week that the 342MW Kaskasi offshore wind farm had begun operation, which includes three wind turbines fitted with the first rotor blades that can be recycled at the end of their lifecycle.

Located off the German island of Heligoland, the three recyclable turbines use the Siemens Gamesa RecyclableBlade which, thanks to a special chemical structure, can now be separated again for the first time, making them recyclable.

These same recyclable blades are being installed at the 1.4GW Sofia offshore wind farm, being built off the northeast coast of England.

However, unlike at the Kaskasi offshore wind farm, 44 out of the Sofia project’s 100 wind turbines will be equipped with recyclable blades.

“Approximately 90 percent of a wind turbine can already be recycled,” said Marc Becker, CEO of Siemens Gamesa’s business unit offshore.

“However, up to now it was not possible to recycle the rotor blades. We are now taking the crucial step to elevate the sustainability of wind turbines to the next level and be able to recycle the entire turbine by 2040 at the latest.”

At the same time that RWE was inaugurating the Kaskasi offshore wind farm and its recyclable blades, Chinese energy technology company Mingyang Smart Energy successfully launched its own wind turbine blade made from over 95% recyclable materials.

In a post on the company’s LinkedIn page, Mingyang explained it was “the first Chinese [original equipment manufacturer (OEM)] to develop recyclable blades.”

The 75.7-metre long blade is made from a composite of recyclable expoxy pultruded plate and recyclable sandwich core material and utilises Swancor’s recyclable thermosetting resin infusion molding technology.

When the blades reach the end of their lifespan, Mingyang claims that “new chemical degradation recycling” will enable them to separate and recycle the resin, fibres, and core materials, which will in turn be able to be used in other industries.