Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Repurposing Decommissioned Wind Turbine Blades as High-Voltage Transmission Poles

• DOI: 10.1061/jcemd4.coeng-13718
• Publication Date: 2024-02-16T16:30:32Z
• Authors: Yulizza Henao; Emily Grubert; Matthew Korey; Lawrence C. Bank; Russell Gentry
• Keywords: Repurposing; Life-cycle Cost Analysis

Wind energy is widely deployed and will likely grow in service of reducing the world's dependency on fossil fuels. The first generation wind turbines are now coming to end their lives, there limited options for reuse or recycling composite materials they made of. Current literature has verified that no existing pathway (i.e., mechanical, chemical, thermal methods recovery, etc.) end-of-life blades can meet cost parity with landfilling US. However, authors' knowledge study date uncovers structures associated repurposing turbine Repurposing could offer a cost-competitive advantage through displacement higher-value products, rather than chemical constituents alone. This implements life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis (LCC) assess environmental financial implications at each stage as primary load-carrying elements high-voltage transmission line United States. case contribution based successful management construction waste by analyzing an application demolition waste. Specifically, this presents poles. Under study, our results show BladePoles have lower greenhouse gas emissions steel poles, we anticipate be less costly Overall most sensitive combustion emissions, driven primarily transportation distance hours required crane operations during installation process. Compared other evaluated methods, least overall global warming potential.