EMR opens wind turbine recycling plant in Scotland

EMR Ltd.'s new wind turbine processing center in Glasgow, Scotland, is now operating with the aim of creating a circular supply chain for wind turbines in Scotland.

The metals recycling firm refers to the site as a pilot processing center as part of its effort to work with suppliers and customers to give wind energy sector components a second useful life via reuse and refurbishing, significantly reducing the embedded carbon of this green technology.

According to EMR, while wind power delivers an increasingly high percentage of the U.K.’s energy requirements, the oldest wind turbines are now reaching the end of their operational life spans. With nearly 90 of a wind turbine containing metals including steel, aluminum, and copper, EMR says its new facility enables these metals to reenter the circular economy.

Those metals are found primarily in the tower and the turbine housing, also known as the nacelle. The blades typically are constructed with a mixture of balsa wood and fiberglass, making recycling options for them a greater challenge.

EMR says its new site has attained a permit allowing it to try new techniques to handle and downsize blades to enable repurposing, meaning the Glasgow facility can accept every part of a wind turbine.

“With sustainability at its heart, Scotland’s renewable energy sector is well placed to lead the way in developing industry standards that prioritize resource recovery, reuse, repair and remanufacture,” says Morag Watson of trade association Scottish Renewables.

“The wind turbine processing center being developed by EMR is a great example of how companies are harnessing the opportunities presented by a circular economy and consolidates Scotland’s reputation for leading the way in circular renewables."

The project is part of Re-Rewind, a partnership between companies and universities that EMR has spearheaded. Re-Rewind aims to create a circular supply chain for the rare earth magnets used within modern wind turbines and is partially funded through Innovate UK.

Research and development projects to boost magnet reclamation will also be based at the new processing center in Glasgow.

The new facility contains a “reuse” aspect of its own, having been situated inside a more than 100-year-old warehouse that originally was constructed for the North British Engine Works (also known as the Barclay Curle Complex) in the 1910s.

“With this facility, all materials used in the construction of wind turbines can be put back into the supply chain, creating a circular economy," says Dr. Charlotte Stamper, strategic partnerships manager of EMR. "EMR’s new wind turbine processing center will bring together some of the most exciting research when it comes to reusing or recycling wind turbines, ensuring this green technology is even more sustainable. I’m very proud of the leading role that EMR is taking in meeting this challenge head on.”