Yang, J., Meng, F. orcid.org/0000-0002-9014-1231, Zhang, L. orcid.org/0000-0002-7936-9171 et al. (9 more authors) (2023) Solutions for recycling emerging wind turbine blade waste in China are not yet effective. Communications Earth & Environment, 4 (1). 466. ISSN 2662-4435
Abstract
Wind power supply chains are evolving as markets expand to reach climate goals. With the largest installed wind power capacity globally, China must deal with increasing composite turbine waste and anticipate its associated costs. Here we predict the quantity and composition of wind turbine blade waste based on historic deployment. A high-resolution database containing 14 turbine capacities (150–5500 kilowatts) was compiled based on 104 turbine models. The environmental and financial costs of waste treatment options were evaluated using a bottom-up approach. Based on current installations and future projections, 7.7 to 23.1 million tonnes of blade waste will be generated in China by 2050. Technologies exist to recycle glass fibre from blade waste, but these solutions vary in level of maturity and are not always commercially available, cost-competitive, or environmentally sustainable. Our findings can inform decision-makers in governments and industry on the pathways to carbon neutrality.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/. |
Keywords: | Energy policy; Environmental impact |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 18 Dec 2023 15:14 |
Last Modified: | 18 Dec 2023 15:14 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s43247-023-01104-w |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:206724 |