EDP Renewables has announced a cooperation agreement with Thermal Recycling of Composites (TRC) for the implementation of a wind turbine blade recycling programme and the launch of the new R3FIBER system. This pilot initiative will apply to faulty or damaged wind turbine blades that need to be replaced, and, in the future, blades from EDPR wind farms that have reached the end of their life cycle.
R3FIBER technology was developed by TRC and a team at CSIC’s National Center for Metallurgical Research led by Félix López Gomez (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas). The technology is based on fully using materials without producing waste, through a process of thermochemical transformation that converts the resins of combustible gases and liquid fuels into glass or carbon fibers that can then be reused. If the blades contain carbon fibers, there are no limitations on the use of composites or on the management of material, since the technology is applicable to components made from both fiberglass and carbon fiber.
