Nadara launched its Sustainable Decommissioning Strategy for Beinn Ghlas Wind Farm in partnership with specialist wind turbine decommissioning service, Reblade. Photo: Nadara

Spinning in the Highland breeze, there are fourteen wind turbines on the hills of the Barguillean Estate, forming one of Scotland鈥檚 oldest wind farms.

Since becoming Scotland鈥檚 fourth wind farm back in May 1999, the Beinn Ghlas turbines have been providing an overall capacity of 8.4 megawatts 鈥� that鈥檚 roughly enough to power 3,200 homes.

In August, the turbines鈥� owner, renewable energy producer Nadara, announced it is planning to replace its ageing Bonus (B44/600) turbines with twelve newer and bigger models, increasing the amount of power produced by the farm to a capacity of 50 megawatts 鈥� roughly six times as much as before. It also plans to ensure the old turbines are reused or recycled.

鈥淲e are confident to lead on new and innovative practices that enhance the reuse, repurpose and recycle network and add sustainable value across the supply chain,鈥� says Azahar Gomez, head of development at Nadara.

Used wind turbine towers being loaded for shipping. Photo: 3PL

What is repowering wind farms?

And Nadara is not the only one. Replacing outdated wind turbines with newer models 鈥� or 鈥榬epowering鈥� as it is known 鈥� is being done more and more in the wind industry as the oldest wind farms around the world start to reach their 20-year obsolescence date and technological advances mean bigger, better turbines can produce more power from fewer machines.

With wind farm repowering becoming more popular, and renewables companies under pressure to reduce waste, so too is the complicated business of dismantling old wind turbines and selling them off and transporting them to new owners.

Beatriz Alonso, sustainability director at Spanish recycling company Surus, which was charged with dismantling and selling 141 old turbines from Zas and Corme in A Coru帽a, Spain, back in 2019 says the market for second hand wind farms is growing fast.

鈥淲e are seeing a growing interest in the reuse and recycling of wind turbine components,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he average lifespan of a wind turbine is approximately 20 to 25 years. At the end of this period, many of its parts, such as blades, generators, and towers, still retain significant value and can be reconditioned or reused in new installations or as spare parts. This practice not only contributes to the circular economy but also offers a more economical alternative for operators and manufacturers.鈥�

Surus, which has also helped repower the 141-turbine Malpica wind farm in La Coru帽a in 2017, dismantles the turbines, stores them and then sells them through its online platform, Escrapalia, a sort of eBay for, amongst other things, machinery, scrap metal, industrial equipment and building materials.

What happens to turbine blades?

One of more than 230 wind turbine blades for 78 wind turbines being transported by Vanguard in South Africa. Photo: TII Scheuerle

Although all the machines in the farm are dismantled and transported away from the site in a repowering exercise, Alonso says that the massive fibreglass blades from the turbines are frequently 鈥渕anaged as waste.鈥�

Built to withstand hurricane winds, blades cannot easily be crushed or recycled. Although some are reused, sent to specialist blade recycling plants, or repurposed into bike sheds, children鈥檚 play equipment, or pedestrian footbridges, many currently end up in landfill.

Even so, Alonso says that 85 to 95 per cent of turbines can and are being recycled, with the steel, aluminium and copper components often fetching high prices on the second-hand market, either as materials for other things but, more frequently, as a cheaper alternative to buying new turbines.

鈥淭he market of used wind turbines is very large,鈥� says Ilya Goncharov, head of industrial projects at specialist contractor 3P Logistics which has transported a number of turbine loads over the past year. 鈥淯sed wind turbines are significantly cheaper than new ones, making them an attractive option for projects with smaller budgets or in developing regions. Many countries offer subsidy programmes and tax incentives that make investing in used turbines even more appealing.鈥�

Ilya Goncharov, head of industrial projects at 3PL. Photo: 3PL

鈥淭he expanding secondary market for wind turbines is not only helping businesses lower their energy costs but also playing a crucial role in the global transition towards cleaner, more sustainable energy systems,鈥� Goncharov adds. 鈥淩eusing turbines or turbine parts is also an effective way to support zero waste in the wind generation industry.鈥�

Goncharov says some of the most popular destinations his firm has been supplying to include remote microgrid arrangements and farming operations in Australia and the USA which also require less power than the large new wind farms that are required to generate power for the grid.

The Australian mining sector has also been a keen purchaser of used turbines in recent years, with a number of remote gold and copper mines installing turbines, solar panels and battery storage systems to help power their sites.

In many cases buyers not only benefit from the lower costs of pre-loved turbines and parts but also the fact that they can often be acquired more quickly than new machines 鈥� and also the turbines suited to generating the smaller amounts of power they require are more readily available on the second-hand market these days.

Alonso says the cost of dismantling wind farms depends very much on the size and type of machines. A series of special machines are needed that are capable of hooking, lifting, lowering, and loading for transport. These machines are of various types of cranes, lifting platforms, and trucks with special transport platforms.

The logistics of transporting turbines 

鈥淚n the dismantling or repowering phase of a wind farm, if the maintenance operations were sufficiently correct, the dismantling of the wind turbines will not be complicated or risky,鈥� Alonso adds. 鈥淭echnically, the cranes used are sized to withstand all loads with a safety coefficient that prevents any unwanted movement at the time of separation of each component.鈥�

She says that tower height, the weight of the nacelle and the distance between the vertical axis of the wind turbine tower and the possible position of the main crane are the things that most influence the project budget because they directly affect the type of cranes and other machinery needed. Generally bigger, more powerful cranes cost more to hire with capacities reaching more than 1,000 tonnes.

Once dismantled, turbine parts are then transported to a storage area, inspected, catalogued and sold.

Nonetheless, Goncharov points out that in order to decide whether pre-loved turbines are really the most cost-effective option, buyers must factor in a whole load of other complicated variables, including shipping costs, delivery times and red tape.

鈥淓ach time you need to watch and evaluate the complex factors; the price of logistics, the legal aspects, the business model and requirements of the buyer,鈥� he says.

He points to a recent shipment his company completed, moving 300 metric tonnes of used wind turbine tower parts and foundation rings from Germany and Lithuania to Australia.

In this particular case, the turbine components coming from Germany were transported to the port of Rostock where they were loaded onto a coaster vessel and moved to the port of Klaipeda in Lithuania. Then further turbine parts were added to the shipment and the entire bundle was loaded onto an ocean vessel bound for Australia.

As part of the logistics agreement, 3PL was responsible for loading, unloading, lashing, unlashing, customs and port handling.

鈥淚n my opinion the market for used wind turbines is a great place for small and mid-sized forwarders,鈥� Goncharov says. 鈥淵ou need to act fast and find unique solutions. Sometimes you need to get offers of more than fifteen suppliers to find the one best solution, even for one small stage or episode of your project.鈥�

Back in Argyll, the venerable turbines of the Beinn Ghlas continue to churn above the rugged Highland scenery 鈥� for now. But in a year or two鈥檚 time, who knows to what new landscape they could be sent.