National REposItoRy of Decommissioned Wind Turbine BLADEs (EirBLADE)

Project Description

Wind Energy Ireland reports that building more wind farms, onshore and offshore, can significantly contribute to the 2030 energy target, cutting Ireland’s carbon emissions by 51%. However, 11,000 tons of wind turbine blades (WTBs) are due to be decommissioned in Ireland by 2025. Unfortunately, the glass fibre materials used in the construction of WTBs are not biodegradable. Research on WTB recycling is ongoing, but recycling solutions are still rare and a few existing solutions are not implemented on a large scale. This project will create a national repository of decommissioned WTBs (EirBLADE) and link it directly to WTB reuse in civil engineering and other applications. The creation of EirBLADE will be a key step in enabling the repurposing of WTBs on a large scale, thereby advancing clean energy by fully transforming waste into resources for the circular economy. EirBLADE will provide a key part of the infrastructure required to facilitate the energy transformation that is occurring in Ireland. EirBLADE database will establish the process of green procurement, which has a potential to create a demand for repurposed blade products, contributing to sustainable living and job creation.