Dismantling and recycling of wind farms

The service life of wind power plants varies depending on when they were built, from 20 years to up to more than 35 years for new turbines. When a wind turbine reaches the end of its lifecycle, it is dismantled and the parts are recycled. There is also an aftermarket for second hand wind turbines. In other words, they can be sold and then erected again in a new location. As a rule, however, decommissioned wind power plants are dismantled and recycled.

Wind power plants contain a large amount of materials with monetary value in the form of valuable metals. The value of a power plant to be dismantled depends on many factors, such as the tower solution and the size of the plant. Dismantling costs are also influenced by the total number of wind turbines to be dismantled in the area, as well as the dismantling and waste handling methods. For example, are the blades to be transported as whole blades or cut or crushed on the site of the plant. What is done with the foundation of the turbine also has an impact. Will it be dismantled to restore the special feature of the area or to make space for a new plant, or will it be landscaped on the site as specified in current legislation in Finland.

In Finland, the blades of wind turbines can be used as resources in circular economy, just like any other plastic composite waste produced by the society. Plastic composite materials collected across the country are crushed in Hyvinkää and delivered to the Lappeenranta plant of Finnsementti. Half of the material is used in cement manufacture as energy, the other half as raw material. The combination of recycling and energy use is referred to as parallel processing. Solutions are also being developed for chemical recycling, for example.

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