With greater than 142 gigawatts of wind energy put in throughout america as of June 2023, wind vitality manufacturing is accelerating to assist meet the nation’s formidable clear vitality objectives. The potential progress of the wind vitality trade raises a essential query: How can the nation holistically contemplate the life cycle of a wind turbine—from deployment to decommissioning—to create a sustainable wind vitality financial system?

To assist reply this query, the U.S. Division of Vitality’s (DOE’s) Wind Vitality Applied sciences Workplace launched the Wind Turbine Supplies Recycling Prize, a $5.1 million competitors that’s administered by the Nationwide Renewable Vitality Laboratory (NREL). A part of DOE’s American-Made Challenges program, the prize goals to assist the nation develop an economical and sustainable recycling trade for 2 high-impact classes of wind turbine supplies: fiber-reinforced composites and uncommon earth parts.

About 85%–90% of the mass of a wind turbine is product of supplies that may already be commercially recycled. The majority of the unrecycled supplies consists of fiber-reinforced composites (carbon fiber and fiberglass). These supplies might be present in numerous types in wind generators, together with the blades and the quilt for the hub that connects the blades to the wind turbine. The wind vitality manufacturing trade additionally relies on essential minerals, reminiscent of uncommon earth parts (together with neodymium and dysprosium), which don’t at the moment have home commercial-scale recycling choices.

Prize Targets

The Wind Turbine Supplies Recycling Prize goals to broaden the nation’s ongoing efforts to advance wind turbine supplies recycling, reminiscent of NREL’s thermoplastic resin analysis for wind turbine blades.

The prize additionally seeks to advertise collaboration amongst wind vitality entrepreneurs, inventors, researchers, and specialists from DOE’s nationwide laboratories, reminiscent of NREL, to speed up the event and commercialization of wind turbine supplies recycling applied sciences.

Learn DOE’s prize launch announcement to be taught extra concerning the objectives of the Wind Turbine Supplies Recycling Prize.

Curious about Collaborating?

Go to the American-Made Challenges Wind Turbine Supplies Recycling Prize web page to be taught extra concerning the timeline and construction of the prize, and register for the informational webinar hosted by NREL on Aug. 3, 2023, at 1 p.m. ET.

Be taught extra about NREL’s superior manufacturing and supplies wind vitality analysis. And you’ll want to subscribe to NREL’s wind vitality e-newsletter for extra information like this.

Article courtesy of Nationwide Renewable Vitality Laboratory (NREL).

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