The Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm in the Netherlands will use a new type of wind turbine blades that can be recycled. The blades are made with a new type of resin which makes it easier to reclaim the different blade components.
Siemens Gamesa’s RecyclableBlades use a resin type that dissolves in a low-temperature, mildly acidic solution. This separates the resin from the other components in the blade: fiberglass, carbon fiber, plastic, wood, and metal without significantly impacting their properties. This allows the components to be recycled into new products afterwards. Siemens Gamesa’s Recycableblades were launched in 2021 but the availability is still limited. Hollandse Kust Zuid will be the first Vattenfall project to employ the blades in some of the 140 turbines in the wind farm. In addition, Vattenfall has secured availability of the blades for the next project, Hollandse Kust West. If Vattenfall is awarded the site, a number of turbines will be able to use the Siemens Gamesa RecyclableBlades.