MAKING WIND ENERGY EVEN MORE SUSTAINABLE

With Voodin Blade Technology’s laminated veneer lumber blades, wind turbines can produce up to 78 percent fewer CO2 emissions, and production costs can decrease by up to 20 percent compared to current solutions.

This solves the last hurdle of making wind energy truly sustainable.

German wooden wind turbine blade manufacturer Voodin Blade Technology in May announced the world’s first prototype installation of its 19.3-meter wooden wind turbine blades. The blades are installed on an existing wind turbine in Breuna, Germany. Using laminated veneer lumber (LVL) as a material is more sustainable than current materials and enables noticeably better recycling of decommissioned blades, a high level of automation – which is not possible with current materials – and more flexibility.

Wind energy is a renewable and sustainable energy source, but there are still hurdles to solve to make it as sustainable as possible. Wind energy is growing at a fast pace, and it plays a key role in helping countries avoid fossil-based energy.

However, while up to 90 percent of wind turbines are recyclable, the blades are currently not. Today, wind turbine blades are made of fiberglass and carbon fiber bound together with epoxy resin, a material that is difficult and expensive to break down.