Vestas takes pledge for zero turbine waste

Bloomberg

Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, has pledged to eliminate all waste in the production of its machines by 2040 as part of its drive to hit carbon neutrality by the start of the next decade.
With wind power estimated to make up more than a quarter of the world’s power mix by 2050, installation of turbines will proliferate but with that comes the problem of increased amounts of industrial waste.
Developers will come under more pressure to clean up a manufacturing process that will see waste from turbine blades alone reaching 43 million tons by 2050, according to a Cambridge University study, or roughly the UK’s annual industrial and commercial waste.
Vestas is drawing up a strategy to clean up the design, production, servicing and end-of-life treatment of its turbines. The Aarhus, Denmark-based manufacturer said it’s the first among its competitors to announce a zero-waste ambition and aims to publish its plan within two years.
“We have to make sure the strategy materialises in concrete actions,” Anders Vedel, Vestas’s chief technology officer, said. “What we do foresee is a change in some of the core materials that we’re using. We want to develop new materials which are biodegradable that can substitute the present materials.”
Despite turbine manufacturers being at the forefront of the energy transition, production involves energy-intensive processes such as making steel, cement and fiberglass.
Historically, manufacturers haven’t included the environmental impact of parts that originate outside their business, but that may change as companies are forced to take more responsibility for their supply chains.
While 85% of Vestas turbines are recyclable, blades and hubs are made up of non-recyclable materials — such as carbon fiber, fiberglass and glues. The company has said that it will work with suppliers and partners towards increasing the recycling rates of its blades and hubs from 44% today to 55% by 2030.
Earlier this month Vestas unveiled its plan to become carbon neutral by 2030 by slashing emissions across its business. It’ll spend the next five years investing in about 5,000 vehicles that run on electricity or other forms of renewable energy.