{"id":9057,"date":"2023-11-07T11:19:59","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T16:19:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.edf-re.com\/?p=9057"},"modified":"2024-01-08T15:06:31","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T20:06:31","slug":"blade-disposal-nuestro-compromiso-con-la-sostenibilidad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edf-re.com\/es\/blade-disposal-nuestro-compromiso-con-la-sostenibilidad\/","title":{"rendered":"Eliminaci\u00f3n de cuchillas: Nuestro compromiso con la sostenibilidad"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Patrick Richardson, Manager, Wind Technology Optimization\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The United States has set goals for decarbonizing the nation\u2019s electricity sector by 2035 and making the economy carbon-neutral by 2050. Thanks in large part to major investments in clean energy driven by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the country is making significant progress toward these targets.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wind energy has a vital role to play, with 70,000 wind turbines totaling 146 gigawatts of capacity in operation today \u2013 enough to power 46 million American homes with clean, reliable electricity. And US wind capacity is expected to grow significantly over the next 10-15 years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a great boon to the cause of reducing carbon emissions but is accompanied by the unavoidable fact that every wind turbine that goes up must, eventually, come down. As we navigate society\u2019s transition to clean energy, we must develop and implement strategies to sustainably manage equipment that reaches the end of its life.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most wind farms are designed to have operational lives of 30 to 40 years. However, due to significant technological improvements over the past 15 years, some existing projects are in the process of repowering \u2013 replacing older equipment with more modern and efficient technology that can produce more power.\u00a0 Repowering makes economic sense \u2013 less turbines, more energy generated.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Repowering often involves replacing all turbine components save the tower and its concrete foundation, though in some cases entire turbines and even parts of the wind farm\u2019s balance of plant may be decommissioned. The good news is that it\u2019s relatively easy to reclaim more than 90% of a turbine\u2019s mass for other uses. The towers, which are 100% steel, can be recycled, yielding new steel with a significantly reduced carbon footprint. In addition, much of the remaining equipment, including cabling, power electronics, hub, and frame, contain large amounts of reclaimable materials. Lastly, mechanical components such as gearboxes and generators can be returned to equipment manufacturers to be rebuilt and reused.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although repowering boosts the amount of carbon-free electricity delivered to the grid, it also results in many blades that are no longer needed \u2013 and these are more challenging to deal with than the metallic components of turbines. While blades can be recycled, the fact that they are constructed from a mix of materials \u2013 fiberglass, carbon fiber, and balsa wood \u2013 increases the technological complexity of doing so. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the past, many decommissioned blades ended up in landfills. According to the <\/span>US Department of Energy<\/span><\/a>, the current average rate of blade retirements is in the range of 3,000-9,000 annually, a figure that is expected to rise to 10,000-20,000 blades per year by 2040; the sustainability of landfilling will decrease as the blade disposal volumes increase.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our Commitment\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While blades are chemically inert and present no threat to ecosystems or the environment, at EDF Renewables we recognize that landfilling disused blades is not a sustainable solution. For this reason, in 2023, we made the following global commitments:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n