Siemens Gamesa pushed the renewables industry forward with the introduction of its RecylableBlade for wind turbines, although at launch it was only available for offshore wind power projects. Now, the company is making the technology available to onshore projects too.
The RecylableBlade is exactly what it says on the tin, it’s a wind turbine blade that is recyclable, making the carbon footprint of a wind turbine lower than ever. While it’s taken a lot of work to get to this stage, Siemens Gamesa was able to prove the technology’s worth in just 10 months, having launched the product in September 2021 before it was finally installed at RWE’s Kaskasi project in Germany in July 2022.
Of course, the RecyclableBlade should enjoy a long life before it’s sent for recycling, it’s still positive to know that the next generation of wind blades won’t head for landfill and will instead go on to have additional uses. However, that was only the case for offshore wind farms, until now.
A new onshore solution is now ready for customers to employ at their onshore wind sites. Further development by Siemens Gamesa and partners ensure full compatibility with the product and process requirements for onshore blades.
“Launching our RecyclableBlade for onshore sites is another outstanding achievement from our dedicated professionals. The concept was always foreseen to encompass solutions for offshore and onshore, and we’re pleased to now provide them commercially to our customers in both market segments,” said Jochen Eickholt, CEO of Siemens Gamesa.
Both onshore and offshore markets around the world continue to set ambitious targets for installed wind power capacity, with the demands for ensuring recyclable solutions gaining more importance. Turbine sizes, and in turn their blades are growing rapidly, making it even more imperative to find solutions to ensuring their circularity. With the RecyclableBlade for onshore, Siemens Gamesa continues to put action behind its Sustainability Vision towards 2040 where a core target is fully recyclable wind turbines by 2040 at the latest.
“We are driving the wind industry towards full circularity with our commitment to make wind power as sustainable as it can be at every stage of its lifetime. Together with our customers and our suppliers, we want wind power solutions from Siemens Gamesa to continue to help countries around the world meet their net zero carbon emission goals,” added Tim Dawidowsky, Siemens Gamesa COO and Chief Sustainability Officer.
