Ørsted, Polish Electrical Engineering Institute Partner on Recycling Wind Turbine Blades

May 29, 2023, by Adnan Memija

The Danish company Ørsted and Łukasiewicz – Instytut Elektrotechniki in Poland have signed a cooperation agreement to develop an innovative technology for recycling turbine blades from offshore wind farms.

On the basis of the concluded agreement, Ørsted will provide Łukasiewicz – Instytut Elektrotechniki with research material i.e. samples of used offshore wind turbine blades which the Institute will use to conduct research on the circular economy of offshore wind turbines, launched in 2022.

Ørsted, together with PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, is currently developing the 2.5 GW Baltica offshore wind farm in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea.

As part of the research direction “Green, Low-Emission Economy” and the “Offshore Wind Energy” programme, Łukasiewicz – Institute of Electrical Engineering is working on the recycling of wind turbine blades. The project is an implementation of the idea of sustainable development.

“In 2022, we started a research project aimed at developing a method for circular management of waste generated from post-operational wind turbine blades. At present, blades are disposed of by incineration with the emission of toxins or by landfilling. Both ways have a detrimental effect on the environment and are by no means profitable”, said Sebastian Wydra, General Manager of Łukasiewicz – Institute of Electrical Engineering.

“The project implemented in Łukasiewicz – IEL focuses on the method of waste-free recycling of blades and the development of secondary raw material for the production of service products and equipment for newly built units or units still in operation“.

In 2021, Ørsted announced that no worn-out wind turbine blade will be landfilled, but will be reused or recycled. Currently, the company said it recovers 95 per cent of the materials from end-to-life turbines.

“Environmental challenges clearly show that we face a great need to create a new economy that requires new, environmentally friendly technologies and ways of functioning and business models that effectively reduce our environmental footprint. That is why we have committed ourselves to eliminating waste and reusing and recycling materials and raw materials“, said Joanna Wis-Bielewicz, director of market development at Offshore Ørsted Polska.

Ørsted set a target to become carbon-neutral in its energy generation and operations by 2025 and achieve a carbon-neutral footprint by 2040.

The company also announced last year that it expects all its suppliers to exclusively use electricity from renewable energy sources when providing products or services to the firm by 2025 at the latest.