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

Henao, Yulizza; Grubert, Emily; Korey, Matthew; Bank, Lawrence C.; Gentry, Russell

doi:10.1061/jcemd4.coeng-13718

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

Journal Article · Fri Feb 16 00:00:00 EST 2024 · Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1061/jcemd4.coeng-13718· OSTI ID:2317776

^[1]; ^[2]; Korey, Matthew ^[3]; ^[4]; Gentry, Russell ^[4]

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
University of Notre Dame, IN (United States)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

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

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 2317776

Journal Information:: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Journal Name: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 150; ISSN 0733-9364

Publisher:: American Society of Civil EngineersCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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42 ENGINEERING
BladePole
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Life cycle assessment (LCA)
Life cycle costs (LCC)
Repurposing
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Wind turbine blades

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

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