Hey pints
Yes, always good to put some thought into sustainability issues.
For context, I believe 85% of the materials going into the construction of wind turbines can actually be recycled today... though not the blades.
Landfill certainly is not a sustainable long-term solution...as my uncle Freddy - who is blind - knows.
As more and more turbines reach the end of their lives, you will find that this will receive more and more attention. Already some large companies are looking at ways to recycle the large blades:
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/ge-announces-first-us-wind-turbine-blade-recycling-program-with-veolia/591869/According to the article:
"
... Almost 90% of the blade material, primarily fiberglass, will be repurposed for cement production, shredded at Veolia's processing facility in Missouri and used at manufacturing facilities across the country.
"Last summer we completed a trial using a GE blade, and we were very happy with the results. This fall we have processed more than 100 blades so far, and our customers have been very pleased with the product," Cappadona said in a statement."... "
Of course then there is NREL, who have developed a recyclable blade:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-wind-turbine-blades-could-be-recycled-instead-of-landfilled/They are just testing to see if it will last 30 years.
I note the comment:
“I think that a lot of progress is going to be made on the recyclability of blades in the next year or two,” Laird said.
Not everyone is that optimistic. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) recently released a paper suggesting that “repurposing” giant used blades might be a simpler alternative to recycling. The industry group says that “local communities” might use them for pedestrian bridges, playground equipment and public benches. Roofing materials is another potential use.
The AWEA report quoted Cindie Langston, manager of the solid waste division for Casper, Wyo., who was recently thrilled to receive $600,000 for dumping used wind turbine blades in the local landfill.
“This is the least problematic waste in terms of environmental concerns that we’ve ever gotten,” she explained to AWEA. “We get tires, asbestos, contaminated soil, pretty nasty stuff.”
AWEA’s report also noted that Vestas Wind Systems A/S, one of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers, has set a goal for eliminating conventional turbine blades by 2040."You can read about Vestas' plans here:
https://www.vestas.com/en/media/blog/sustainability/20200511_zero-waste-turbines#!
That is the thing. Unlike with the fossil fuel energy sector and ICE cars, the very raison d'être for renewable energy is to achieve sustainability. Hence, every little step towards improved sustainability with renewable energy and EVs is locked in and can be improved upon, while with fossil fuels and ICE cars, no matter how much more efficient they become... they will forever burn dirty fossil fuels.
So it is good to see that you are finally beginning to think about sustainability of renewable energy pints. We need more people like you!!!
