It is well known that on-shore and off-shore wind farms can generate electricity without emitting greenhouse gases. New wind farms are constantly being planned and built. The service life of such a wind turbine is currently about 20 years. But what happens to the individual components of a wind turbine, especially the sometimes huge rotor blades, when they have reached the end of their service life? Until recently, they were incinerated or stored in landfills, which was not very environmentally friendly.
For several years, Veolia has been working on a solution to reuse wind turbine blades. In 2020, the company made a breakthrough in this area. The solution is to reuse various materials contained in a rotor blade in cement production.
For this purpose, the company has entered into a cooperation with GE Renewable Energy. Individual components of the rotor blades are used as an alternative raw material for the production of cement in a circular economy. By using the raw materials in cement production, the CO2 emissions normally caused in the process can be reduced by 27 per cent. Find out more here.
The Green Tech Portfolio is invested in Veolia.
Bryan Brühwiler, ESG-Analyst