Vattenfall aims to recycle 100% of used turbine blades by 2030

Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall AB today announced a goal to reach a 100% recycling rate of decommissioned wind turbine blades by 2030.

The company has also set an interim goal of 50% recycling by 2025 and decided to place a landfill ban on decommissioned blades from the wind farms it owns with immediate effect.

Achieving the 2030 target will depend on technology development, supportive policies and government incentives, among other factors. Vattenfall is supporting research on material recycling of composite waste and advanced recycling technologies, and promoting the use of recycled material in new products. It noted that supporting the recyclability of blades by design will increase the value of the recycled material at end of life.

“It is no longer acceptable for composite waste from the wind industry to be placed in landfills, even though specific country legislation allows for this. Achieving 50 percent recycling by 2025 and 100 percent by 2030 is a big challenge. Solutions to tackle this challenge do not exist in large scale today, so significant efforts are needed to reach this long-term goal,” said Eva Philipp, Head of Environment and Sustainability Business Area Wind. 

Vattenfall is working to enable a fossil-free living within one generation. The significant expansion of wind power generation is an important element of this ambition.

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