Siemens Gamesa is posting rapid progress toward its goal of making all of its wind turbine blades fully recyclable by 2030 and all of its wind turbines fully recyclable by 2040.

The wind turbine developer installed its first RecyclableBlades for offshore applications at the Kaskasi offshore wind farm in Germany in July 2022. Siemens Gamesa reveals that an onshore equivalent is now available for this renewable energy market.

The complex production process for blades up to this point has involved composite materials including resin,Source: Siemens Gamesa glass and carbon fibers, rendering disposal at the end of the wind turbine’s lifecycle challenging. While around 85% of a wind turbine can be fully recycled, most blades are landfilled upon decommissioning.

To reduce reliance on landfilling, the Siemens Gamesa turbine blades are rendered recyclable after decommissioning by use of an epoxy resin system based on proprietary technology from project partners Aditya Birla Advanced Materials. This allows for the recovery of composite materials with a mild acidic solution, which allows the various materials to be subsequently reused or repurposed in the consumer goods, automotive and other manufacturing sectors.