What should be done with wind turbine blades at the end of their life cycle?
Eemshaven (Groningen Seaports,) a seaport in the province of Groningen, the Netherlands, signed an agreement to start a closed loop for the supply, dismantling and recycling of wind turbine blades.
They are dumped, they are buried in mines, they cause headaches. Wind turbine blades, made primarily of composite materials, which generate energy all over the world, pose a dilemma after their working life. It seems that nothing can be done with the blades. The solution to this problem is coming considerably closer now that various companies, educational institutions and organisations are joining forces to make recycling possible after all. In doing so, Eemshaven is the world’s first.
Decom North is the consortium that will make it happen. They will dismantle written-off wind turbines and transport the rotor blades to the recycling plant in or near Eemshaven, where the blades will be broken down into granules. These granules will be the raw material for new products such as bank revetments, moulds, bridges, crane mats and much more.
This new covenant marks the launch of a much-needed revolution for nature, the environment and the climate. Within a few years, hundreds of wind turbines at sea to the north of Eemshaven will be part of an integrated recycling system. A pilot plant near the terminal will operate at full speed. The raw materials produced in this way will replace materials such as hardwood, therefore benefiting both the environment and the climate.
Until then, the consortium will use the Bremen-based company Neocomp, which processes glass fibre and synthetic resin from cut rotor blades into cement. A ‘one stop shop’ system for disposing discarded rotor blades is already up and running. The flows from land and sea will shortly meet in Eemshaven, where rotor blades can also be repaired.
The parties involved, including Chemport Europe, all agree that old wind turbine blades eventually have to be recycled into new wind turbine blades. In order to realise this as soon as possible, the pilot plant has plenty of room to accommodate researchers and students from the High-Quality Applications knowledge project. They are also exploring whether other types of material can be processed using the same method.
