Turbines turning from wind to sustainable products

When a renewable energy hero needs to be replaced, how do you maintain its green credentials? That is the challenge facing the wind farm industry, as turbines across the island begin to reach the end of their useful life. Thousands of tonnes of wind turbine blade material are expected to require replacement by 2030, leading to the question of what to do with them. Currently, they largely go to landfill or incineration. The first ever commercial wind farm on the island of Ireland - Bellacorrick in County Mayo - was decommissioned at the start of the year. Now, two Northern Ireland companies are working together to make the disposal of its blades as eco-friendly as possible. From blades to building material Disused blades can be be turned into a reusable material that is used to make fence posts and transport pallets Over the next 15 years, it is estimated that more than 400 turbines in Northern Ireland will need to be replaced. That means a lot of currently non-recyclable material heading to landfill or incineration. Scientists from around the world have been working on turning decommissioned blades into other useful products. Other companies are looking at different options. The yard at the Plaswire Ltd site in Lurgan, County Armagh, is covered with wind turbine parts and other kinds of large-scale industrial materials looking for an alternative ending. Plaswire Ltd is recycling blades from Bellacorrig and off-shore wind farms Blade waste issue is 'colossal' The company's Chief Executive Andrew Billingsley said finding a way to take blade waste beyond the end of its useful life is an essential part of creating a green, circular economy. "The issue today is, I could say, colossal. "The blades are big - they have been going to landfill and they've been disappearing into quarries and so forth. "At present, there's somewhere in the region of 125,000 tonnes of blades across the world getting disposed of by one means or another, but very rarely is it done in a sustainable way." The company turns the blades into a long-lasting reusable material that can be used as an alternative to timber, for fence posts and reusable transport pallets. Billingsley believes it could even be used an alternative to precast concrete and timber. "Typically, a tonne of virgin plastic needs about three tonnes of CO2 in the manufacturing. "We're preventing the incineration of plastics, and burning plastics produces between 2.7 and 2.9 tonnes of CO2 for every tonne burned." But proving those green credentials is another matter. Giving a 'voice' to a blade Kieran Kelly is the founder of the Scarva-based firm Ubloquity Kieran Kelly uses technology to "talk" to recycled blades and other products. The company he founded, ubloquity, attaches a QR code or radio frequency technology to a product. It can then be tracked from source to end on its entire journey through the supply chain. "Hold your phone close to the product and the product will actually transmit and tell you the story through a mobile device, through your phone, or through an RFID scanner that will tell you when it was made, who made it, what production line it came off, where it originated, and what it is in its final product," he said. "And to be able to give a brand and a product a story and a voice on the global stage is totally transformational." Blades can end up as fencing posts that have a life expectancy of at least 30 years Similar technology is used in post-Brexit checks on freight, crossing the Irish Sea border. With growing requirements for traceability, Kelly said there was increasing demand for technological solutions to sustainability problems. "It's extremely remarkable to take a legacy industry to show the circular economy, to promote green and to use Northern Ireland's triple market access for positive economic growth, creating jobs. "And being able to use technology to transform basically a very, very static product from source all the way through to the end user is completely transformational and a first of its kind for the sector, but also for Northern Ireland." Why are wind farms being replaced? XXLPhoto/Getty Creative Bigger blades mean more efficient production When Bellacorrick was opened in 1992 it was a cutting-edge facility, with 21 turbines, supplying 6.5 megawatts of power to meet the needs of about 4,500 houses per year. It was expected to have a life cycle of 25 years, which it has exceeded. The blades stretched to between 46 and 53 metres at their tip. Newer, more modern blades can reach a height of up to 200m. Bigger blades mean more efficient production from fewer turbines. Eighteen very large turbines will replace the 21 that operated at Bellacorrick. Each individual new turbine is capable of producing more power than was generated by the entire original wind farm. The site will be amalgamated with the adjacent Oweninny wind farm, where 60 turbines already produce 192 megawatts of electricity, powering up to 140,000 homes and businesses. When the expansion is complete, the addition of the 18 turbines will increase that capacity to 220,000.