Recyclable wind turbines on the horizon

MingYang Smart Energy has launched a new wind turbine blade that is almost fully recyclable – said to be ‘the first of its kind in Asia’.

MingYang claims it is the first Chinese OEM to offer recyclable blades, which consist of over 95% recyclable materials. The prototype blade is 75.5 metres long and uses supplier Swancor’s EzCiclo recyclable thermosetting resin. The blade has epoxy pultrusion plates with a foam core.

According to Taiwan-headquartered Swancor, the composite parts of EzCiclo can be recycled and degraded via its CleaVER technology to serve other industries at end-of-life stage. The company has run tests to transform the waste into recycled fibres and oligomers, after which the recycled fibres can be used to make glass fibre or carbon fibre composites.

In a previous collaboration with Times New Material Technology, Swancor created a recyclable wind turbine blade of 86 metres. These projects are hailed as milestones in a sustainable future for the renewable energy sector.

Asia’s wind power plants currently produce one-third of the world’s total wind energy. China alone boasts 145 362 MW of installed capacity, making it the clear leader in this market. India is next with 25 088 MW installed capacity.

The global wind turbine market size was valued at EUR 49.3 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach EUR 90.8 billion by 2030. MingYang argues recyclability is the missing ingredient that could ‘push the boundaries of technology’ in this booming industry.