How long do wind turbine blades last and can they be recycled?

The number of wind turbines in nearly every country is increasing almost day by day. When we look at these wind turbines it’s really hard to imagine how large they really are. These wind turbine blades only have a short life. They need to be regularly repaired and sometimes they need to be replaced and replacing these wind turbine blades is very difficult. Many of these blades land up in landfill sites because of the difficulty in recycling them. The wind turbine blades are often made from a fibreglass composite material that is difficult to recycle some also have carbon fibres in them and there are no chemical processes to separate the individual composite materials from one another in a cheap and economical way and with these renewable energy machines it is not acceptable to dispose of the blades in landfill sites. Slowly companies are discovering ways of recycling these blades and it is hoped by 2030 that 100% of them will be able to be recycled.




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