4.6 Article Proceedings Paper

Evaluation of the environmental impacts related to the wind farms end-of-life

Journal

ENERGY REPORTS
Volume 8, Issue -, Pages 35-40

Publisher

ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.egyr.2022.01.024

Keywords

Wind farms; End-of-life; Environmental impacts; Waste management

Categories

Funding

  1. FCT -Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, Portugal [UIDB/04058/2020]

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In Europe, the adoption of wind energy as a renewable energy source has significantly increased in the last decades and will continue to grow to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and carbon-neutrality by 2050. However, uncertainties regarding the end-of-life scenarios of wind farms, including standard procedures, legislation, and environmental impacts, still exist. The recycling rate of wind turbine components is high, but the final disposal of blades remains a concern. This study aims to identify and analyze the main environmental impacts related to the end-of-life scenarios of wind farms and highlight the application of circular economy principles.
In the last decades, the adoption of renewable energy, namely wind source, in Europe, have increased significantly. And it will continue to grow, as part of a strategy to reach the Paris Agreement and the Carbon-neutrality by 2050 goals. Simultaneously, the oldest wind farms are getting into their end-of-life (EoL) and uncertainties regarding the main aspects of the possible scenarios still remain, such as standards procedures, legislation and environmental impacts (emissions, pollution, etc.). Regarding the waste management, 85% to 90% of all the components of the wind turbine may be recycled, however the final disposal of the blades represents a unique concern, as this process is not completely well-established. Thus, the environmental impacts and relevant aspects related to the wind project flow may be assessed using the life cycle assessment. Moreover, the environmental study of new projects is a good source to identify possible impacts. Thus, this research aims to identify and analyse the main environmental impacts related to the end-of-life of wind farms scenarios, based on the state of the art and a literature review. Moreover, it gives floor to the discussion regarding the uncertainties about this very important stage, the final disposal of wind farms' components emphasizing d the application of the principles of the circular economy. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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