CNBC, 12-9-2020, Anmar Frangoul
Key Takeaways:
- GE Renewable Energy and Veolia North America (VNA) have signed a “multi-year agreement” to recycle blades removed from onshore wind turbines in the United States.
- The blades would be shredded at a VNA site in Missouri before being “used as a replacement for coal, sand and clay at cement manufacturing facilities across the U.S.”
- Referencing analysis carried out by Quantis U.S., GE Renewable Energy said blade recycling would allow for a “27% net reduction in CO2 emissions from cement production.” For water consumption, this would see a net drop of 13%.
- This is great news, as a 2017 research paper from the University of Cambridge estimated waste produced by wind turbine blades could hit 43.4 million metric tons by the year 2050.