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.
READ: What can you do with used wind turbine blades?
READ: How do you clean a wind turbine blade?
READ: Can community-owned wind farms help achieve energy freedom?
The credits: this RTÉ Brainstorm podcast series is presented by Ella McSweeney, research is by Hazel O'Leary, the producer is Adrian Carty and it was recorded by Shane Dempsey at Collaborative Studios. RTÉ Brainstorm is edited by Jim Carroll and the assistant editor is Aoife Ryan-Christensen. The series is proudly supported by Taighde Éireann/Research Ireland.
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
