Investment dilemma: how sustainable are wind turbines really?
Global awareness of the need to fight climate change is growing. The use of renewable energy, such as energy generated through wind turbines, is a solution that is both necessary and unavoidable. This leads to opportunities but also to challenges. Many wind turbines that were installed more than a decade ago are reaching the end of their lifecycle. These wind turbines need to be decommissioned. This raises the question how to deal with the blades of wind turbines at the end of their lifespan. According to news agency Bloomberg, around 8000 aging blades will be removed annually in the next four years in the US alone.1 As it is difficult to recycle these blades, most of them will be burned or end up in landfills. Since wind blades do not decompose naturally, they will remain buried in these landfills indefinitely.
For sustainable investors, this raises a dilemma. The generation of power through wind turbines represents a climate-friendly alternative to the use of fossil fuels.
However, storing blades of old wind turbines as permanent waste in a landfill is harmful to the environment. Within the wind energy sector, awareness of this environmental issue is growing. In Europe, renewable energy companies are looking for environmentally friendly ways to deal with the blades of decommissioned wind turbines. In Denmark, for example, a leading renewable energy company is moving towards a more circular way of working. This company has recently committed itself to reuse, recycle or recover all of the wind turbine blades at its onshore and offshore wind farms upon decommissioning.
Innovation is also part of the solution. In 2021, a Spanish company that offers wind power technology announced the launch of blades for offshore wind power that are 100% recyclable; a possible gamechanger for the sector. Using a new technology, the materials comprising a blade can be separated. As a result, these materials can be recycled for use in new applications. We believe these are promising steps towards a future where energy will be both sustainable and circular.
Sandra Saïdi - Portfolio Manager Sustainable Equities
