4 ms·

I hope the blades are able to be recycled Apparently GE have announced that they can do this now but there's no specific mention of it on the UK ones https://w

I hope the blades are able to be recycled Apparently GE have announced that they can do this now but there's no specific mention of it on the UK ones https://www.utilitydive.com/news/ge-announces-first-us-wind-turbine-blade-recycling-program-with-veolia/591869/#:~:text=The%20process%20will%20make%20wind,materials%20in%20the%20cement%20production https://www.utilitydive.com/news/ge-announces-first-us-wind-... Previously they just had to bury them: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-02-05/wind-turbine-blades-can-t-be-recycled-so-they-re-piling-up-in-landfills https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-02-05/wind-turb...

nradov 6y ago
Discarded turbine blades are basically inert and won't give off any methane so there's really nothing wrong with burying them in a landfill.
- probablypower 6y ago
  >there's really nothing wrong with burying them in a landfill And with one comment, 100 circular economists screamed out in pain.
- pjc50 6y ago
  The main problem with a hundred meter long blade is going to be finding somewhere to put it. Maybe they'll end up as artificial reefs or polders. Or maybe in the intervening 20+ years somebody will develop a technique for recycling glass-epoxy composites.
- jack_riminton 6y ago
  Just because something is acceptable doesn't mean its preferable Recycling is clearly the preferable option
  - vikramkr 6y ago
    Why? Recycling it could be very energy intensive. Recycling is only preferable in particular circumstances, and until you have a specific recycling process to evaluate, you can't make general conclusions about the preferability/environmental superiority of recycling vs landfill disposal
  - imtringued 6y ago
    Recycling is generally done when extracting new resources is more expensive than reusing existing resources. I don't know what type of resin these wind turbines use but if we assume it is an Epichlorohydrin+Bisphenol A [0] based epoxy resin the material inputs are basically oil (or any other relatively pure mixture of carbon and hydrogen) and salt for the chlorine. Oil is treated as a consumable in cars and ends up in the atmosphere. Salt is used in food. Why would anyone want to recycle these materials? They are considered "worthless" by the rest of society. If you bury them they at least stay in the ground instead of ending up in the atmosphere. Glass fibers are just SiO2 (glass). The two most common elements on earth. [1] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epoxy#Bisphenol-based https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epoxy#Bisphenol-based [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_elements_in_Earth%27s_crust https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_elements_in_Earth...

nradov 6y ago

Discarded turbine blades are basically inert and won't give off any methane so there's really nothing wrong with burying them in a landfill.

probablypower 6y ago
>there's really nothing wrong with burying them in a landfill And with one comment, 100 circular economists screamed out in pain.
pjc50 6y ago
The main problem with a hundred meter long blade is going to be finding somewhere to put it. Maybe they'll end up as artificial reefs or polders. Or maybe in the intervening 20+ years somebody will develop a technique for recycling glass-epoxy composites.
jack_riminton 6y ago
Just because something is acceptable doesn't mean its preferable Recycling is clearly the preferable option
- vikramkr 6y ago
  Why? Recycling it could be very energy intensive. Recycling is only preferable in particular circumstances, and until you have a specific recycling process to evaluate, you can't make general conclusions about the preferability/environmental superiority of recycling vs landfill disposal
- imtringued 6y ago
  Recycling is generally done when extracting new resources is more expensive than reusing existing resources. I don't know what type of resin these wind turbines use but if we assume it is an Epichlorohydrin+Bisphenol A [0] based epoxy resin the material inputs are basically oil (or any other relatively pure mixture of carbon and hydrogen) and salt for the chlorine. Oil is treated as a consumable in cars and ends up in the atmosphere. Salt is used in food. Why would anyone want to recycle these materials? They are considered "worthless" by the rest of society. If you bury them they at least stay in the ground instead of ending up in the atmosphere. Glass fibers are just SiO2 (glass). The two most common elements on earth. [1] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epoxy#Bisphenol-based https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epoxy#Bisphenol-based [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_elements_in_Earth%27s_crust https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_elements_in_Earth...