Abstract
The global shift toward low-carbon growth policies has significantly expanded wind energy projects worldwide. South Korea plans to increase its wind energy capacity to 37 GW, up from the existing 1.97 GW as of 2024. However, wind turbine blades have an average lifespan of 20–25 years and the growth of the wind turbine market has raised issues regarding their recycling. Traditionally, discarded blades have been landfilled or incinerated, contradicting global carbon neutrality policies. To address these issues, developing and using recyclable materials in the design and manufacturing of blades is essential. In Korea, efforts have begun to develop technologies for recycling wind turbine blade materials, which are expected to reduce environmental impacts. To assess these reduction effects, this study conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the recyclable materials of wind turbine blades. To understand the environmental reduction impact intuitively, the application of recyclable blade materials to an offshore wind farm (60 MW) in South Korea was simulated. The environmental impact of the wind farm was quantitatively analyzed by comparing the effects between cases of using conventional (non-recyclable) and recyclable materials. The environmental reduction effects of several single impacts and impact categories were analyzed for whole life cycle of the wind farm under the life cycle using recycled (scenario I) and non-recycled (scenario II) epoxy resins. Carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 15,140 Mt if the epoxy resin is recycled. Carbon monoxide and sulfuric acid have a difference of 85 Mt and 211 kg between two scenarios, respectively. The environmental mitigation effects for global warming potential(climate change), ozone depletion, and acidification show 18,816 Mt∙CO2-Eq, 519 kg∙CFC-11-Eq and 127,331,681 mol H + -Eq respectively. In conclusion, the LCA revealed that the environmental impact of wind turbine blades can be reduced by using a recyclable blade epoxy resin. Specifically, the result of this research shows a significant mitigation effect for carbon dioxide emission, monoxide emission, global warming potential and acidification impacts. Even though current recyclable wind turbine blade materials do not have a remarkable advantage compared to conventional ones, the results from this study will support to justify development of the technology and commercialization of recyclable blade resins.