The Sofia offshore wind farm, which is set to be located off the North East coast of the UK on Dogger Bank, will utilise Siemens Gamesa’s RecyableBlade, developer RWE has confirmed.
In total, 132 individual recyclable blades will be installed at the 1.4 GW offshore wind project. This is the maximum available given the current market capacity for the new specialist resin used in the blades. However, it means Sofia is paving the way for a more sustainable wind industry.
Due to the shortage in supply, less than half of the wind turbines at the offshore wind farm will be equipped with the Siemens Gamesa RecyclableBlade, with just 44 of the 100 turbines sporting the special blades. This is not the first time RWE has used the technology, however, with the company previously deploying them at its Kaskasi wind farm off the German island Heligoland.
Sven Utermöhlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind: “We are delighted to have secured this agreement with Siemens Gamesa. Sofia is our largest offshore wind farm to date and this world first is a significant step in taking the long-term sustainability of offshore wind farms to the next level. RWE believe this is the right direction for the future of our sector, which has sustainability at its core.”
While the Siemens Gamesa RecyclableBlade represented a major step forward for the industry when it comes to sustainability, there is the possibility that the other blades at the wind farm could soon be recyclable without the need for the special resin used in Siemens’ product. That’s thanks to a new chemical process being developed by Vestas and some of its research partners, which could make all wind turbine blades recyclable.
That chemical process has yet to be commercialised, however. That means technologies like Siemens Gamesa’s RecyclableBlade will still be key to ensuring the circular economy within the wind industry.
Clark MacFarlane, UK Managing Director, Siemens Gamesa, noted, “When we began working with RWE on installing our recyclable blades for their Kaskasi project, we knew that we had taken the first major steps on delivering a major change to the renewable wind sector. Having the opportunity to produce even more for Sofia is fantastic and fully demonstrates our and RWE’s focus on developing and delivering even greater levels of sustainability for renewable generation globally.”
As part of the agreement, 50% of Sofia’s turbine blades will be produced in the UK at Siemens Gamesa’s Hull factory. This supports local supply chain ambitions and reinforces the growing role the Humber region has to play in supplying the growing offshore wind industry.