Recyclable blades to spin at some Hollandse Kust Zuid turbines

Swedish power group Vattenfall AB today said that it will use recyclable wind turbine blades at the 1.5-GW Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm in Dutch waters.

The wind farm will consist of 140 units of 11-MW turbines from Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA (BME:SGRE). Some of them will feature the turbine manufacturer’s RecyclableBlades.

Vattenfall owns the wind farm together with BASF and Allianz. The first turbine at the project was installed in April.

The Swedish utility explained that the blades are easier to recycle thanks to the new type of resin they use. This resin dissolves in a low-temperature, mildly acidic solution, which means less energy is required. The resin is also separated from the other components in the blade -- fibreglass, carbon fibre, plastic, wood and metal -- without significantly impacting their properties, so that the components can be recycled.

Recycableblades were launched last year but the availability is still limited, Vattenfall said. It added that it has secured the availability of the blades for Hollandse Kust West and that if it is awarded the site, a number of turbines would feature these blades.

Vattenfall has a target of recycling all wind turbine blades by 2030.

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