Most offshore wind farms are designed for an effective lifespan of 20 to 25 years. After that each park is either replaced by modern components or decommissioned with a sensible dispose of individual components. The DecomTools project gather partners from Germany, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK and Norway that develop eco-innovative concepts for decommissioning of wind turbines.
The four-year project will carry out research, demonstration pilots and working tools in different areas such as logistics, infrastructure, ship design, safety or up-/re-cycling. DecomTools is a the Interreg North Sea Region Programme with a 4.7-million-euro budget.
As part of the project, a market analysis of offshore wind and decommissioning has been published. According to the market analysis, the number of turbines coming into question for decommissioning will steadily increase from 2020 onwards. It is estimated that 22 turbines in 2020, 80 turbines in 2022 and 123 turbines in 2023 will become obsolete which raises the question of how decommissioning must be organised. According to the market analysis, Europe will have a unique potential within the field of decommissioning. WindEurope expects the installed capacity until 2030 to rise by 253GW whereof 70 GW are installed offshore.
