1. Wind Turbine Blade Decommissioning in Brazil: The Economic Performance of Energy Recovery in a Cement Kiln Compared to Industrial Landfill Site.
- Author
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Ramos Júnior, Mário Joel, Medeiros, Diego Lima, Batista Azevedo, Joyce, and dos Santos Almeida, Edna
- Abstract
This study compares the logistics of decommissioning wind turbine blades for energy recovery in a cement kiln (proposed scenario) to industrial landfill site disposal and coke fuel in a cement kiln combined (base scenario) to check the financial cost of the operation in each scenario. The wind farm coordinates, wind turbine blade mass, and logistics costs of the 760 wind farms in Northeast Brazil were used to determine the location of a material processing center (MPC) for wind turbine blade waste. The findings showed that the cost of the proposed scenario was higher than that of the base scenario when a single MPC was considered to serve the Northeast region. However, the proposed scenario was preferable when installing decentralized MPCs to serve the Northeast region. The installation of four additional decentralized MPCs shows that energy recovery is a more favorable technological route in the economic performance for disposing of 96% of the wind turbine blades in operation in the Northeast region, which represents 210,188 tonnes. Therefore, the gradual implementation of MPCs should consider a wind turbine blade decommissioning plan to support the energy recovery potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2025
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