Posters

Abstract

SusWIND will provide visibility to developers and tender reviewers on measurable and achievable sustainability metrics NCC recommends for future auction rounds in the UK. Supported by a range of turbine operators, a blade OEM, The Crown Crown Estate and Renewable UK, the SusWIND team at the National Composites Centre has used its expertise and in-depth knowledge of rotor blade circularity to develop recommendations on how these aspects should be incorporated into offshore and onshore wind projects. To get here, several key elements of SusWIND have been brought together: * Geo-spatial mapping of turbines in the UK that is being used to predict what, where and when for blade decommissioning over the next 35 years. * Development and demonstration of a commercially viable circular supply chain for end-of-life (EoL) rotor blade recycling. * The development and use of life cycle assessment (LCA) and circularity metric tools to advise this supply chain on low impact, cost effective EoL solutions depending on the blade bill of materials. * The impact of using alternative materials in the next generation of blade design and manufacturing, with real potential to reduce global warming potential across turbine service life. SusWIND outputs are being used as the foundation for generating and communicating the environmental and economic data demanded by providers and investors in EoL blade solutions. Building on these findings, a multi-horizon timeline for environmentally sustainable solutions is proposed. This timeline provides a roadmap with rapidly deployable short-term solutions for the current crop of scrapped blades, while providing key target dates for technology commercialisation to maximise value of future generation of hybrid blades. By combining these important insights on technology and supply chain, SusWIND is able to advise our commercial partners, and the wider wind sector, on blade EoL and help policy makers drive towards a more sustainable wind industry.