The first wind turbine with Siemens Gamesa's RecyclableBlades has been installed. The recyclable blades have been installed as part of RWE's Kaskasi wind farm in Germany. This farm is located 35 kilometres north of the island of Heligoland in the German North Sea.
RecyclableBlades are the world's first recyclable blades for wind turbines for commercial use offshore. The blades can be separated into different materials after their lifetime. This enables recycling of the materials into new applications and increases the sustainability of wind turbines.
Wind Circularity
The blades were announced by Siemens a year ago. "The time to address the climate emergency is now, and we need to do it in a holistic manner. In pioneering wind circularity - where elements contribute to a circular economy for the wind industry - we have reached an important milestone in a community that puts care for the environment at the centre. The RecyclableBlades are the next tangible example of how Siemens Gamesa is leading technological development in the wind industry," said Andreas Nauen, CEO of Siemens Gamesa, at the launch of the circular blades.
Recycling has long been an important issue in wind turbine development. The tower and nacelle of turbines, for instance, are in many cases (partly) recyclable. However, the composite materials used in the blades of wind turbines were more difficult to recycle. With the RecyclableBlades, Siemens Gamesa aims to change this. The company sees the blades as an important step towards a future where full recyclability of projects is a market requirement. The company sets itself the goal of building fully recyclable wind turbines by 2040.
Processed into cases or televisions
At the launch, the company had already announced that, in collaboration with RWE, it would be installing the first wind turbines with recyclable blades at the Kaskasi project. The blades consist of a combination of materials incorporated into a resin to create a strong, rigid structure. With RecyclableBlades, the resin, carbon fibre, wood and other materials can be separated using a mild acid solution. These materials can then be reused within the circular economy. This allows companies to process the material into new suitcases or televisions without the need for new raw materials.
Sven Utermöhlen, CEO Wind Offshore, RWE Renewables: "The fact that we are testing the world's first recyclable wind turbine blades under operational conditions in our Kaskasi offshore wind farm is an important step for taking the sustainability of wind turbines to the next level. The first turbine equipped with Siemens Gamesa's RecyclableBlades generates electricity. The expansion of renewable energy sources should be decisively encouraged. Faster offshore expansion is especially important to simultaneously meet climate targets and create more energy sovereignty. We at RWE want to contribute to this and the commissioning of the first turbine of our Kaskasi offshore wind farm is a clear sign of this intention."
81 metres long
In time, RWE plans to equip several turbines in its Kaskasi wind farm with the B81 RecyclableBlades. Here, B81 stands for the length of the blades, which are 81 metres long. The wind farm will eventually consist of 38 SG 8.0-167 DD wind turbines, generating 342 MW of renewable energy. RWE will supply this power to 400,000 German households.
The RecyclableBlade technology is also available for the 108-metre-long B108 blades of the SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbines and the 115-metre-long B115 blades for SG 14-236 DD turbines.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Photo: Pixabay / Steppinstars
