A circular hub for end-of-life wind turbine blades

Abstract

Wind turbine blades are composed of complex composite material structures that are difficult to recycle at the end of their operational lifetime. As such, they are oftentimes landfilled or incinerated. Following the Circular Economy principles, there are a multitude of strategies that may be applied to these structures; these range from more to less desirable, where landfill and incineration are categorised as least desirable. In the ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reach agreed upon climate goals, the implementation of wind power plays a central role in the Netherlands, and hence the number of end-of-life wind turbine blades will significantly increase in the coming decades. In an attempt to better manage this issue, the creation of a central circular hub as treatment facility for these end-of-life blades has been suggested. Hence, a framework is developed to compare ports with regard to their suitability for the development of a circular wind hub. The framework is based on six categories: port willingness, available space, existing companies and infrastructure, accessibility, focus on circular strategies, and centrality with respect to return volumes. Subsequently, different ports in the Netherlands are compared for the establishment of a circular wind hub. The Port of Den Helder and Port of Amsterdam come forward as most suitable locations, with a strong willingness and being most centrally located. However, it is also highlighted that the hub need not be limited to one single location - in fact, it could be valuable to collaborate and create synergies across ports. Additionally, interregional collaboration with neighbouring countries of the Netherlands – Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, France, and Belgium – will help to improve the economic viability of such a hub. This research therefore performs a geographical explicit quantification of the availability of end-of-life wind turbine blades in this region between 2020-2050, and places the results in the context of three circular strategies based on reusing, repurposing and recycling the blades, respectively. This is done through the use of a dynamic Material Flow Analysis and the use of a Geographic Information System. The results indicate a clear increase in end-of-life wind turbine blades in the defined region until 2050, reaching a cumulative amount of 690 kilotonnes by 2050. Application of the circular strategies strongly influences the amount of material for which it is economically viable to be treated in the hub. In all cases, this is significantly lower than the total amount of material in the region. Among the three strategies, reusing the blades results in the highest amount of material treated, energy saved and economic benefits realised. However, the potential market size seems largest for recycling the blades and smallest for reusing them; hence regulation for this disparity is called for. Furthermore, a push is needed for the viable volumes under application of the circular strategies to better approach the total volume in the region. To accomplish this, it is imperative that the economic value of the secondary material be increased, as well as the documentation of wind turbine blades and transparency in the value chain be improved. All in all, this research expresses the urgency, feasibility and potential value of the development of a circular wind hub for end-of-life wind turbine blades in the Netherlands.