Jump to content

Reefs from retired wind turbine blades?

Rate this topic


gellfex

Recommended Posts

I keep hearing about this new issue of disposing of end of life wind turbine blades. Why are they not going offshore for reefs? Seems to me they'd be great. Is there a reason composite blades would not be good? Or is it simply transportation costs make it cheaper to landfill them?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Cascade said:

Could it be that material would break down over time?  Good question. 


This is what I was thinking, chemicals leaching as the blades are degrading.

 

Looks like there is some research being done to make them more recyclable.

 

(Educational link)

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20550340.2019.1639967

Edited by C.Robin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, cjmarti3 said:

I expect the main issue is weight.

 

A whole blade is hollow, it will float.  A cut up blade may sink but will not hold firm to the bottom.

I don't think that would be true. Graphite has a specific gravity of around 2,  higher than coral's 1.5. So a blade should be "heavier" than coral even after accounting for resin holding it together with a specific gravity of 1.2. when they vacuum bag graphite they squeeze out as much resin as they possibly can, which makes it stronger.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 mins ago, gellfex said:

I don't think that would be true. Graphite has a specific gravity of around 2,  higher than coral's 1.5. So a blade should be "heavier" than coral even after accounting for resin holding it together with a specific gravity of 1.2. when they vacuum bag graphite they squeeze out as much resin as they possibly can, which makes it stronger.

Makes no sense. regardless of what material is used a hollow structure will float and even if its specific gravity is 1.0 it will not sit stabile on the bottom. hell they make workboats out of steel! I would assume that the worn-out blades would have to be anchored somehow to prevent them migrating along the bottom. 

====Mako Mike====
Makomania Sportfishing
Pt. Judith, RI
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The blades are also filled with balsa, about the least dense wood there is causing floating problems at sea. 

 

 

This is yet another example of "green technology" causing other long term problems. 

 

A bit off topic, but... 

"They" want everything to go electric for "no pollution" yet they don't want coal or nuclear power generation...

 

Plus, only a teeny fraction of automobiles are electric right now. How much more upgrade will be needed for the overall electric grid later? PG&E lines are already under intense scrutiny (especially here in wacko California) without "their" desired vast increase in electric consumption. 

 

I think that "they" feel electric power is some sort of magic perpetual motion machine or something. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm an electrical manager and buy electric for our group of companies, here is something to read, PJM is the Electrical grid manger on a section of the east coast including NJ. This is where electric comes from as of 2018, and NJ was a solar friendly state then, and I have just completed a solar farm to power a quarry.

Electricity source and percent:

Coal                          28.68%

Oil                                 .21%

Natural Gas              31.13% 

Nuclear                     34.53%

Solar                             .26%

Wind                           2.63%

Biomass/solid waste    .73%

Captured Methan         .30%

Hydro                          1.50%

The quarry we have on solar is powered totally by the sun from about 1 to 4:30 , we still start up under utlity power at 6 in the morning and run to six in evening, when we are back on utility, our utilty bill was about $20,000 a month before  and after investing 1.2 million our bill is now $13,000, we did get tax credits and renewable energy credits are good for about $210,000 per year. Still works for me, unless rec credits go away. Solar makes no sense without the tax credits which can go away in time as they have dropped a huge amount in last two years. Solar and wind are usually a day time thing, the stinky old power plants are still powering america at night and even during the day until peak solar gain or winds pick up. I have been aproached about battery storage for solar to power into evenings or on cloudy days, but batteries are more of a concern for me to dispose of as it is with all the eelctric cars ,Lithium is not the easiest thing to recycle as I understand.

All that said I'm anticipating putting two asphalt plants in NJ on solar in next two years.......Jack

Just wanna fish!
DMS#1157    NCBBA#11293     NJBBA#4597

Yellow Eyed Devil from the beginning!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Turn them into fishing rod blanks.. Thank me later for this idea.

Edited by StripedBasstardz

"Long range" - CTS Vapor Trail 12ft 2-6oz, Shimano Stradic FL 5000, Powerpro Super Slick 8x V2 15lb.

 

"Light duty" - Daiwa Labrax AGS 106MH, Shimano Stradic CI4+ 4000, Florida Distance Premium 15lb braid

 

"Super duty" Blackhole Striped Bass Special 11ft 3/4-4oz, VS VR50

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, MakoMike said:

Makes no sense. regardless of what material is used a hollow structure will float and even if its specific gravity is 1.0 it will not sit stabile on the bottom. hell they make workboats out of steel! I would assume that the worn-out blades would have to be anchored somehow to prevent them migrating along the bottom. 

A hollow structure could have holes drilled to sink, but I think @cityevader has a better point, that they use a sandwich of materials with either balsa or a thermoplastic foam between the fiber layers.  I'm sure it would be possible to weigh them down by filling them with clean demolition rubble like broken asphalt and concrete, but that would add cost to the disposal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 mins ago, Bulldog said:

I'm an electrical manager and buy electric for our group of companies, here is something to read, PJM is the Electrical grid manger on a section of the east coast including NJ. This is where electric comes from as of 2018, and NJ was a solar friendly state then, and I have just completed a solar farm to power a quarry.

Electricity source and percent:

Coal                          28.68%

Oil                                 .21%

Natural Gas              31.13% 

Nuclear                     34.53%

Solar                             .26%

Wind                           2.63%

Biomass/solid waste    .73%

Captured Methan         .30%

Hydro                          1.50%

The quarry we have on solar is powered totally by the sun from about 1 to 4:30 , we still start up under utlity power at 6 in the morning and run to six in evening, when we are back on utility, our utilty bill was about $20,000 a month before  and after investing 1.2 million our bill is now $13,000, we did get tax credits and renewable energy credits are good for about $210,000 per year. Still works for me, unless rec credits go away. Solar makes no sense without the tax credits which can go away in time as they have dropped a huge amount in last two years. Solar and wind are usually a day time thing, the stinky old power plants are still powering america at night and even during the day until peak solar gain or winds pick up. I have been aproached about battery storage for solar to power into evenings or on cloudy days, but batteries are more of a concern for me to dispose of as it is with all the eelctric cars ,Lithium is not the easiest thing to recycle as I understand.

All that said I'm anticipating putting two asphalt plants in NJ on solar in next two years.......Jack

Can you explain the difference between your stats and others around like the following?  Are they measuring differently?

Https://www.seia.org/state-solar-policy/new-jersey-solar  Percentage of NJ Electricity from Solar: 4.45%
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to register here in order to participate.

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


×
×
  • Create New...