Defunct wind turbine blades give industry a waste problem - The Times
Defunct wind turbine blades give industry a waste problem
Almost 100 giant turbine blades from Scotland’s first wind farm are being sent into storage while the industry battles to solve major problems over their recycling.
Hagshaw Hill, near Douglas in South Lanarkshire, which opened 28 years ago, is being “repowered” as the first generation of turbines is dismantled, throwing more than 80 blades on to the scrapheap.
ScottishPower Renewables plans to replace them with larger turbines after government permission was granted for a 14-turbine wind farm.
The new turbines will have a ground-to-blade tip height of 200 metres, almost four times the size of the previous towers.
Turbine blades are difficult to recycle and campaigners fear many may already have ended up in landfill. Scottish ministers have not imposed a ban them being dumped.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: wind
Decades of government support for the development of wind energy has resulted in lower costs and a rapidly growing share of electricity generated by wind turbines. Wind in 2019 accounted for 7.3 percent of electrical generation, surpassing for the first time hydropower at 7.0 percent.