A bit of a stoic premise in the title – Memento Mori.

Ageing and death are an inevitable part of life for us, as humans and for the offshore industry and its wind turbines.

A report that caught our eye this week again was what can be done with ageing turbines that are no longer fit for purpose? Turbines are huge items and when they are decommissioned, you can’t just sell them on, pop them in your offshore waste containers or hope they slowly decompose.

No.

The industry is based on a green promise of renewable values and it has amassed money and ethical values from these principles.

90s wind turbines

With many wind turbines installed in the 90s and 2000s, coming to a life end, it is only right that questions are asked about them.

We’ve seen imaginative repurposing of wind turbines as sculptures and outdoor art and furniture in places like the Netherlands.

There have been successful attempts to heat them in cement kilns to create cement, but this is costly.

Local initiatives have seen new uses as bike sheds but with 43 million tons of blades waste anticipated by 2050, the need for new solutions becomes pressing.

Make all components sustainable

The key, as we’re now seeing, from wooden and multi-composite new wind turbines is to make all components recyclable.

Their outer shell, shafts, gearing and electrical components are usually made from steel, copper, aluminium, other precious metals and recyclable plastics.

Blades, however, are typically constructed from fibreglass and as Dr Barlow from the University of Cambridge states:

“At the end of life, if we’re going to get any value out of the materials, we need to be able to separate the fibres from the resin in some way or another.”

Fibreglass, currently, is not 100% recyclable.

Companies like Danish start-up Continuum are actively seeking solutions to this.

Thermoplastics

Perhaps then the answer is to move to more sustainable blade materials like thermoplastics.

Sweden is laser-focused on an innovative solution – wood. Watch the explainer video below, but the blades are made of fibreglass with a wooden tower.

Could we see wooden turbines like the windmills of yesteryear or are conditions offshore too hostile for a product like wood?

Time will tell.

How our expert team can help you.

HSEQ-360 Ltd utilise a team with wide ranging skills, competencies and experiences; including chartered engineers, chartered health and safety and chartered quality professionals. HSEQ-360 can certainly review your company’s operations and management systems and implement sustainability strategies which are reasonable and practicable for your business.

We operate a management system which is certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 & ISO 45001; and we are specialists in developing bespoke management systems for your business. We can complete an environmental impact study on your behalf and can provide practical recommendations on how to proceed environmentally.

For further information, please see our website or contact a member of the team on info@hseq-360.co.uk