Virtuous, CO2-free and job-creating, will renewable energies also be… recyclable? While all the energy mix scenarios anticipate a massive increase in these new carbon-free sources, the sector has been pushed for several years to be greener than green. “The renewable energy sector is required to set an unprecedented level of exemplarity, and in our discussions with stakeholders we must always place the cursor a little further,” notes Vianney de Lavernée, who heads CSR strategy at Engie Renouvelables.
At the national level, the ambitions are great. The Renewable Energy Acceleration Bill, passed by Parliament in February, plans to increase solar power generation capacity tenfold to over 100 gigawatts (GW) and deploy 50 offshore wind farms to reach 40 GW by mid-century. A horizon of wind turbines and solar panels, which in time could generate mountains of waste to be recycled. According to estimates by the International Renewable Energy Agency, the cumulative volume of solar panels to be processed in France in 2030 could be between 45,000 and 200,000 tonnes. On the wind power side, French energy companies agree on a substantial increase in the dismantling of wind turbines between 2025 and 2030. Thus, from 2025, nearly 300 wind turbines could be dismantled each year.
Recycle blade resin
The subject is crucial for wind power operators. The concrete and steel that make up the masts and supports can be recycled very well through conventional waste reprocessing channels in building and public works. But the blades, they remain the black point. Made of composite materials containing fiberglass, resin, sometimes carbon fibers, they are difficult to recycle today and end up, in France, by being incinerated.
Forced by regulations to recycle 90% of the total mass of the wind turbine – a figure which should increase to 94% in 2024 -, manufacturers have understood the importance of developing a circular economy for these large wings, and are competing with announcements on 100% recyclable turbines. “The thousands of blades buried in the desert in the United States is the kind of image that the industry no longer wants”, points out Guillaume Clédat, director of the Elium resins activities of the French chemist Arkema. The company, which has been working on the subject since 2020, has developed a thermoplastic resin whose component can be chemically recovered after pyrolysis. “The goal is to redo resin with exactly the same properties as those obtained by petrochemicals”, continues Guillaume Clédat.
Spinneret embryo
The first prototypes are in progress, but there is still a long way to go in terms of certifications to see these new generation blades integrate future fleets. What to do from here? Setting up a specific recycling channel? In 2019, the General Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development noted that several French giants (Suez, Veolia, Derichebourg, Paprec, etc.) had the appropriate know-how. But that they would only embark on it on two conditions: “the existence of a substantial market in terms of volume” and “the possibility of achieving a satisfactory operating margin there, justifying the necessary basic investment in capital and in human resources”. Nothing has really changed since, only a small Montpellier company, Mywindparts, has joined the ranks. “The main difficulty is to size the industrial tool today to be ready to respond to the recycling peak in twenty or thirty years”, notes Vianney de Lavernée.
The photovoltaic sector is more advanced. Solar panels, less complex than blades, can be recycled at more than 95% and are also subject to regulations on recyclability. Sector players thus came together in 2007 to set up Soren (formerly PV Cycle), a non-profit eco-organization that collects and recycles end-of-life panels. The activity gradually increases in power.
“Last year we collected nearly 3,600 tonnes of panels, that’s ten times more than in 2015, rejoices Nicolas Defrenne, the general manager of Soren, to which all photovoltaic players adhere. At the global level, in 2050, the recycling of panels will represent a market of 13 billion euros per year. There is a good card to play, and France is well placed.”