Activity A3.3 “Interregional workshop on sustainable approaches to wind turbine decommissioning” of the BIOWIND project foresees the organization of an interregional workshop to exchange experience and discuss the sustainable approaches to wind turbine decommissioning. The workshop was organized by the Province of Flemish Brabant (PFB) and took place on 19 June 2024 in Leuven, Belgium. From the UPAT side, one team member attended the event, Ms. Eirini Stergiou, postdoc researcher.
On Friday 26/07/2024, the UPAT team organized an internal debriefing meeting where Ms. Eirini Stergiou informed the remaining UPAT team members (that could not attend the workshop) about the discussions that took place during the A3.3 workshop. She mentioned that during the workshop, the participants were able to identify some important aspects for the phase of decommissioning, such as:
• the end-Of-Life of a wind turbine
• a quantitative description of the market
• the end of concession of the European wind farms
• the recyclability of Wind Turbine Components
• the carbon Emissions of Wind Power
• the Belgian decommissioning plan
In addition, Ms. Stergiou briefly presented the main points of the presentations that took place during the workshop and explained the main findings and recommendations of the roundtable discussions that followed the presentations. The evolution of the wind industry in the EU shows significant variability across different countries and numerous changes in the decommissioning procedures are expected in the following years. Moreover, the (i) reuse of materials from the wind turbines (ii) repurposing of decommissioned sites (iii) replacement of the older existing turbines can support the circular economy and sustainability goals. Nevertheless, some difficulties such as the (i) lack of expertise in decommissioning processes (ii) limited public’s knowledge of wind turbine decommissioning (iii) permits and regulatory requirements (iv) grid problems can obstruct and delay the improvements on the decommissioning processes. Thus, in order to promote the decommissioning, governments should support stakeholders by implementing obligations and support measures for the second-hand market, financial motivations and incentives for recycling.
