Siemens Gamesa has launched the world’s first wind turbine blade that can be recycled at the end of its lifecycle.
The first six 81 metre-long RecyclableBlades have already been produced at Siemens Gamesa’s blade manufacturing plant in Aalborg, Denmark.
Siemens Gamesa has already reached agreements with three of its major customers.
The manufacturer is working closely with RWE to install and pilot the innovative recyclable blades at the Kaskasi offshore wind power plant in Germany for the first time.
Current plans are for the project to be producing energy from 2022 onwards.
EDF Renewables aims to deploy several sets of RecyclableBlade at a future offshore wind project, while WPD will install sets of the RecyclableBlade at one of its future offshore wind power plants.
Siemens Gamesa CEO Andreas Nauen said: “The time to tackle climate emergency is now, and we need to do it in a holistic way. In pioneering wind circularity – where elements contribute to a circular economy of the wind industry – we have reached a major milestone in a society that puts care for the environment at its heart.
“The RecyclableBlade is another tangible example of how Siemens Gamesa is leading technological development in the wind industry.”
Many components of a wind turbine, such as the tower and nacelle components have established recycling practices.
Until now, the composite materials used in wind turbine blades have been more challenging to recycle. Built on proven, reliable processes, the Siemens Gamesa RecyclableBlade breaks this mould and is the first of its kind, enabling recycling at the end of its lifecycle, and sets the path to a future where the full recyclability of projects will be a market requirement.
Siemens Gamesa is committed with RWE to install and monitor the world’s first wind turbines with recyclable blades at the Kaskasi offshore wind power plant in Germany.
RWE Renewables offshore wind chief executive Sven Utermohlen said: “We are pleased that our offshore wind farm Kaskasi is able to provide a fantastic facility for testing innovations; here we are preparing to test special steel collars and to use an improved installation method for foundations.
“Now, Kaskasi installs the world’s first recyclable wind turbine blade manufactured by Siemens Gamesa.
“This is a significant step in advancing the sustainability of wind turbines to the next level”.
Siemens Gamesa wind turbine blades are made from a combination of materials cast together with resin to form a strong and flexible lightweight structure.
The chemical structure of this new resin type makes it possible to efficiently separate the resin from the other components at end of the blade’s working life.
This mild process protects the properties of the materials in the blade, in contrast to other existing ways of recycling conventional wind turbine blades. The materials can then be reused in new applications after separation.