The “End of Life Issues and Strategies” (EoLIS 2024) seminar by WindEurope has started in Gothenburg, Sweden, with a focus on repowering, decommissioning, and recycling wind turbines. 

According to WindEurope, more and more wind turbines across Europe are reaching the end of their useful life. Replacing them with new turbines has proven highly effective, generating more than three times the energy from the same location. However, not enough repowering is taking place. 

Data analyzed by WindEurope shows that today, repowering reduces the number of turbines in a wind farm by an average of 25%, while tripling the overall output of the wind farm and quadrupling the output per turbine. 

Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope, stated, “Energy renewal is a no-brainer, but governments aren’t doing enough to drive it. Most old wind farms are still operating with inefficient turbines.” 

Dickson added, “The oldest wind farms are typically located in the best sites because they were the first to be built. But if we don’t repower them, they’ll continue to operate with less efficient turbines. This needs to change. Governments must implement the excellent new EU permit rules, which make repowering easier. Repowering meets all the requirements: the old site is used, no new grid connection is needed, and local communities support the wind farm and the benefits it provides and want it to continue.” 

The reasons for the improved efficiency of modern turbines include longer rotor blades that increase the total swept area of the turbine, higher capacity factors, enhanced aerodynamics through improvements in blade design, more stable electricity generation in low wind conditions, and advanced control systems that optimize turbine performance in real time. 

WindEurope emphasizes that repowering of wind farms is not evenly distributed across EU member states. 

Germany leads the way in the number of repowering projects, with over half of all projects. This is partly because Germany is Europe’s largest wind energy market and hosts many first-generation wind farms. 

Spain, Europe’s second-largest onshore wind energy market, only hosts 3% of the repowered projects. The difficulty in securing grid connections for repowered wind farms has led developers to simply keep old turbines running. Spain is missing out on its huge repowering potential in this area. 

Meanwhile, France is losing the benefits of repowering due to its restrictive rules on blade tip heights, which prevent the construction of modern, more efficient onshore wind turbines. 

Other EU countries lack effective repowering strategies. Across Europe, excessively long and cumbersome permitting processes are hindering the much-needed adoption of repowering. 

Increase in blade waste volume 

EoLIS 2024 also focused on decommissioning and recycling. Between 85% and 90% of modern wind turbines can be recycled using well-established recycling streams. 

The main challenge in achieving fully recyclable turbines comes from the composite materials used in the turbine blades. These composites make up around 11% of the total volume of a turbine and are not easily recyclable. 

Currently, the volumes of turbine blades at the end of their useful life are relatively low. They are fully absorbed through recovery methods such as co-processing with cement or used in recycling and reuse projects, turning old turbine blades into furniture, boats, bridges, playgrounds, tiny homes, bike racks, and much more. 

WindEurope notes that this is about to change. As more and more turbines begin to reach the end of their useful life, annual blade waste volumes are expected to gradually rise to over 100,000 tons by 2040. 

Participants at EoLIS 2024 discussed the fusion of technologies and policies aimed at reducing blade waste. They emphasized the need for greater cross-sector collaboration to help collect the necessary volumes of composite waste to launch economically viable recycling solutions. 

They also discussed how specific waste codes for wind turbine composite waste could help establish a business model for different recycling technologies.  

Paula Rey García, Deputy Head of the Energy System Integration and Renewable Energy Policy Unit of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy, stated, “The European Commission has introduced key provisions on permits and repowering in the revised Renewable Energy Directive, which must now be implemented. We believe that repowering should make a significant contribution to achieving our energy and climate goals. Accelerating the implementation efforts is a key priority for the new Commission. We will support member states in this regard.”