from rte.ie (Ireland)
We may think that the wind turbines we see blowing in the wind up and down the country will last forever, but that’s not the case at all. These blades do need to be replaced and some 11,000 tons of wind turbine blades are due to be decommissioned in Ireland by the end of this year.
Unfortunately, the glass fibre materials used in the construction of these blades are not biodegradable, and Wind Europe has called for the introduction of a landfill ban for blades. Wind turbine blade reuse in civil engineering and other applications is in its infancy, and is not utilised on a larger scale, mainly because there is no information on the current stock of these blades in Ireland and their mechanical fitness to be reused in second life structures.
In this week’s Brainstorm podcast, presenter Ella McSweeney takes a closer look at wind turbine blades with Dr Paul Leahy from the School of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at UCC and Dr Vesna Jaksic from the Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering Department at MTU, and the School of Mechanical Engineering at UCD.
Have ’em delivered to Swarbrick with a note which reads: Tag, you’re it. I’m sure she’ll know what to do with them.