Enva launches wind turbine blade recycling service

Around 85 – 90% of a wind turbine’s total mass can be recycled. Most components such as the foundation, tower, and components in the nacelle have established recycling practices. For example, the steel in towers is 100% recyclable, and there is scope for the foundations to be recycled into aggregate for building materials or road construction.

Wind turbine blades are more challenging to recycle due to the composite materials used in their production. While various technologies exist that can be used to recycle blades – these solutions are yet to be widely available and cost competitive.

Following a successful trial at Enva’s facility in Ayrshire, Enva is now rolling out a solution for wind power producers that will see decommissioned turbine blades crushed and shredded to enable the recovery of recyclable materials, such as steel. The residual material is then used as a replacement for traditional fossil fuels in energy-from-waste facilities. To aid processing and transportation specialist equipment is used to cut down the blades into three 50 m lengths prior to them being delivered to Enva’s recycling facility.

Michelle Scott, Operations Director, Enva, said: “Enva is committed to bringing at least one new recycling process to market every year and the opening of our wind turbine blade recycling facility is another tangible example of this innovation and investment. The increased use of alternative energy sources will result in new waste streams which will each require managing in a way that enables us to unlock their circular economy and commercial value. We look forward to continuing to work with the Wind Sector and other energy companies to help them realise these benefits.”

The UK and Europe is expected to decommission 25 000 tpy of wind turbine blades by 2025, with this figure rising to 52 000 by 2030.

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global's Spring 2023 issue

The Spring 2023 issue of Energy Global hosts an array of technical articles focusing on offshore wind, solar technology, energy storage, green hydrogen, waste-to-energy, and more. This issue also features a regional report on commodity challenges facing Asia’s energy transition.