Vestas, the world’s largest turbine manufacturer, plans to create 100% recyclable wind turbine blades to ensure that future wind power will produce as little waste as possible. Vestas holds 18% of the world’s wind power market share and is the first company of its kind to commit to making fully recyclable products.
Massive wind turbine blades are made from glass and carbon fiber heated together with epoxy resin. Usually, these materials can’t be separated once combined, meaning they go into landfills when they become too beaten to operate safely.
Vestas knows that with the global market for wind energy growing by about 3% per year, an increasing waste problem comes with it. The company aims to tackle the recyclability issue for the next two decades until they entirely operate at zero waste by 2040.
According to Reuters, Vestas has unveiled a new chemical technology that breaks the epoxy resin away from the carbon fiber and glass, allowing the rigid material to be easily removed and the epoxy to convert into its fundamental elements. All of these components can then be reused to make new turbine blades. “The new technology will be a significant milestone in enabling a future where landfill is no longer required in blade decommissioning,” said Allan Poulsen, the head of sustainability and advanced materials at Vestas.
Vesta’s new sustainability strategy consists of four ambitious goals. One of which is a pledge to produce zero-waste wind turbines by 2040. As a first step, incremental targets will include boosting the recyclability rate of blades and hubs from 44% currently to 50% by 2025 and 55% by 2030.
Peter Garrett from Vestas said:
We have spent quite some time on the approach to create zero-waste turbines because we know that this new strategic approach could potentially be the new standard for future turbines.
A wind turbine usually lasts around 20 to 25 years, at which point the owner can either get it refitted with new parts or order it decommissioned. Approximately 75% of all waste produced via decommissioning comes from the blades. Vestas aims to recycle 50% of the blade material in a few years by investing in new recycling technology and new blade materials that are easier to recycle.
