Siemens Gamesa is releasing RecyclableBlade, a recyclable wind turbine blade ready for commercial use offshore. With this technology, separation of the materials in the blade is possible at the end of its lifetime, enabling recycling into new applications.
The first six 81-meter long RecyclableBlades have been produced at the Siemens Gamesa blade factory in Aalborg, Denmark.
“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,” states Andreas Nauen, CEO of Siemens Gamesa. “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. 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.
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. Current plans are for the project to be producing energy from 2022 onwards.
Siemens Gamesa is working with EDF Renewables with the aim to deploy several sets of RecyclableBlade at a future offshore wind farm.
In addition, Siemens Gamesa is working with wpd with the intention to install sets of the RecyclableBlade at one of their future offshore wind power plants.
Siemens Gamesa recently launched an ambitious Sustainability Vision towards 2040, pushing the boundaries of sustainability to create a better future for generations to come. Under this umbrella, the company announced a goal to make turbines fully recyclable by 2040.
