By Melissa Coleman
While wind farms provide renewable energy, the sustainability practices of disposing of the massive turbine blades is in question.
It is expected that the number of ageing and damaged turbine blades around the world that are nearly ready to be decommissioned and replaced with larger, more efficient ones will increase with the growth of the wind industry however, landfilling retired wind farm blades isn’t green or sustainable.
Acciona Energia’s project director for the MacIntyre Wind Farm, Andrew Tshaikiwsky, said he currently sits on a forum at the Clean Energy Council.
“The disposal of blades is something the industry is working on as we approach the limit of the first turbines that were installed around the world for decommissioning,” Mr Tshaikiwsky said.
“The industry has highlighted a couple of different avenues. One of which is to use them as an input into new concrete.”
“One of those has progressed with the Clean Energy Council in the process of collaborating with the concrete industry,” he said.
While the MacIntyre Precinct is still under construction after the first foundation pour this year in September, by 2027 it may be home to 360 wind turbines producing 2 GW of energy, enough for 1.4 million homes.
Each turbine has three blades with a lifespan of 30 years, which will require replacing around 2052.
“It’s certainly something the industry has identified and needs to look at,” Mr Tshaikiwsky said.
“There is not a ready-made supply chain for decommissioning of blades at the moment however the other components are straightforward as they are typically metallic products and steel that can be scrapped and recycled.
“Those products have a well-established decommissioning pathway, but the blades are what the industry is working through at the moment,” he said.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said at the recent announcement for the development of the Herries Range project in the MacIntyre wind farm Precinct, that the State government needs to set the right landscape to be able to manufacture wind turbines in Queensland.
“Just like we have seen the manufacturing of other vehicles, such as Rheinmetall at Redbank in Ipswich, we need to build that capacity to manufacture the turbines in Queensland.”
Although this plan may take several years until completion, the Premier is determined to move ahead.
“The project will make more jobs for Queenslanders and link in with other renewable industries, setting the landscape for cheaper turbine blades in the future,” she said.
