From wind turbine to bus shelter?

COULD old wind turbine blades be turned into bus shelters and park benches?

That’s the question at the heart of a project that’s secured a £50,000 grant from Innovate UK, the UK Government agency that used to be called the Technology Strategy Board.

ReBlade, a Glasgow-based company set up last year to specialise in decommissioning wind turbines, will now investigate if the metal from wind turbines can be reused.

“Wind turbine blades are notoriously difficult to recycle and finding uses for them has been a known challenge within the renewables industry for years,” explained Fiona Lindsay, ReBlade’s co-founder and technical director.

“It’s a challenge I was personally keen to address because, as the first generation wind turbines I helped to put up early in my career start to come down, I want to help find a sustainable solution and a circular end destination for the material.

“Turbine blades are incredibly strong and robust components, and this new research will equip us with structural integrity checks and tests to make informed decisions about the circular potential and reuse viability of each blade.”

The six-month project is due to finish in April.

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