New digital service called ReWind to help with the decommissioning and recycling of old wind turbines

New digital service called ReWind to help with the decommissioning and recycling of old wind turbines

(PRESS RELEASE) BÆRUM, 24-Nov-2022 — /EuropaWire/ — DNV, the independent energy expert and assurance provider, has announced that a new digital service called ReWind launched in cooperation with Reodor Studios, a full-service corporate venture and innovation agency helping leading corporations improve existing products and services – or create new ones, will address the growing challenge around the world of how more sustainably old wind turbines can be decommissioned and recycled.

In the 1970s, the wind power industry boomed, and thousands of wind farms were built around the world. Now, 50 years later, the world faces a historic challenge: what do you do with a 300-tonne wind turbine when it has reached the end of its life? ReWind, a brand-new digital service, aims to address this key issue for the wind industry.

Today, most decommissioned wind turbines are buried underground, for lack of a better solution. In 2020 Bloomberg highlighted the situation in Casper, Wyoming in USA, where 870 wind turbine blades are buried under a landfill. WindEurope estimates that 25 thousand tonnes of wind turbine blades will have to be recycled by 2025, and 52 thousand tonnes by 2030.

DNV‘s specialist team analyzes and develops reports for wind farm owners and operators, showing, among other things, which materials the wind turbines contain, how they can be disposed of in the best possible way, what can be recycled and how. Now, in collaboration with Reodor Studios, a Norwegian corporate venture and innovation studio, DNV will shape this into a digital service.

“This service will enable wind farm owners to quickly assess turbine recyclability percentage and options, end-of-life planning, and sustainable decommissioning,” explains Matthew Geraghty, Founder and ReWind venture lead at DNV.

The use of wind energy will grow, and with that, the need to replace older turbines and equipment to keep pace with developments. Indeed, DNV’s 2022 Energy Transition Outlook report forecasts that by 2050, wind will provide almost 50% of on-grid electricity in Europe, and 40% in North America and Latin America. New turbine types and bigger turbines, blades, and towers will raise capacity factors for onshore wind from 26% now to 34%, and from 38% to 43% for offshore wind by 2050.

“This is the first time in history that we have faced such a challenge. A wind turbine has a life cycle of around 20-30 years, and now many wind turbines are approaching the end of their life cycle. Today, the process of recycling and decommissioning these is extremely complicated and manual, and large quantities of wind turbines end up in landfills, for lack of better solutions. Introducing this digital service helps the owner plan for decommissioning, map costs, and assess recycling options,” says Lucy Craig, Director Growth, Innovation & Digitalization, Energy Systems at DNV.

In order to create a digital service that meets all its customers’ needs, DNV has initiated a collaboration with Reodor Studios. By combining Reodor’s expertise in building digital products and services with DNV’s world-leading domain knowledge, the ReWind team can work faster, increase the chances of scaling successfully, and build a well-tested service that can make the process of decommissioning wind turbines smoother for wind farm owners and operators.

Current customer of the service Gintare Briola, Head of Portfolio Management, CEI at Capital Dynamics stated “Capital Dynamics Clean Energy is committed to responsible investment and ESG implementation throughout the investment lifecycle. ReWind’s recyclability study for our wind farms helped us gain a better understanding on the recyclability of the equipment, the existing and developing recycling methods, including for composite blade waste, and forecasted decommissioning costs. ReWind also provided recommendations for various stages of the project life cycle that we at Capital Dynamics hope to implement to minimize environmental impact and reduce lifetime emissions.”

“DNV, which already has a large customer base of wind power operators and owners and sits on world-leading knowledge of wind power, has foreseen the need for this service, both through dialogue with the customers, but also through hard data. Add to that Reodor’s creativity and experience in building products and services, and I believe it’s a perfect match to create a solution that can potentially solve a huge industry – and global – need,” says Kate Butchart, Strategic Advisor at Reodor Studios.

The digitization project is now ongoing, and the team is now working on validating market needs, developing a service concept, business model, and a scalable growth strategy based on customer insights.

About DNV 

DNV is an independent assurance and risk management provider, operating in more than 100 countries. Through its broad experience and deep expertise DNV advances safety and sustainable performance, sets industry standards, and inspires and invents solutions.

Whether assessing a new ship design, qualifying technology for a floating wind farm, analysing sensor data from a gas pipeline or certifying a food company’s supply chain, DNV enables its customers and their stakeholders to manage technological and regulatory complexity with confidence.

Driven by its purpose, to safeguard life, property, and the environment, DNV helps its customers seize opportunities and tackle the risks arising from global transformations. DNV is a trusted voice for many of the world’s most successful and forward-thinking companies.

In the energy industry
DNV provides assurance to the entire energy value chain through its advisory, monitoring, verification, and certification services. As the world’s leading resource of independent energy experts and technical advisors, the assurance provider helps industries and governments to navigate the many complex, interrelated transitions taking place globally and regionally, in the energy industry. DNV is committed to realizing the goals of the Paris Agreement, and supports customers to transition faster to a deeply decarbonized energy system.

Media contacts:

Neil James Slater
Head of Media Relations, Energy Systems
Phone: +44 2038165702
contact.energysystems@dnv.com

Penda Sall
Media Relations, Energy Systems
Phone: +33 651 69 88 64
contact.energysystems@dnv.com

Matthew Geraghty
ReWind Venture Lead, Energy Systems, DNV
Phone:
contact.energysystems@dnv.com

SOURCE: DNV AS