OLD wind turbines have found a second life in surfboard form in a world-first prototype designed to set the tone for recycling in the renewables industry.<\/p>\n
The 10 boards are the handiwork of professional surfer Josh Kerr and his team at Draft Surf in collaboration with Spanish renewables developer Acciona.<\/p>\n
Mr Kerr put them through their paces on a few flawless waves generated by URBNSURF’s artificial swell generation technology in Sydney.<\/p>\n
“We’re pretty proud of the product we created, it’s pretty cool,” he said at an event in March showcasing the prototypes.<\/p>\n
“We just want a clean ocean to be able to surf in and enjoy.”<\/p>\n
Wind farms are now a common sight in Australia but do not last forever, with a life-cycle of between 20 and 30 years.<\/p>\n
Turbines at the nation’s oldest wind farm at Codrington in Victoria are earmarked for decommission in 2027 and hundreds more are approaching their twilight years, with community pressure to keep them out of landfill only intensifying.<\/p>\n
As much as 90 per cent of the steel, fibreglass and other materials in wind turbines can be recycled, but recovering all the different components is not easy.<\/p>\n
Finding a market for the recycled materials and ensuring quality and safety is up to scratch are other challenges.<\/p>\n
Acciona Energia managing director in Australia, Brett Wickham, said ideally, all wind farm owners and operators would be required to recycle blades.<\/p>\n
“Then you’re driving an economy.”<\/p>\n
Non-negotiable recycling would force the industry to consider end-of-life uses for each material, including opportunities to repurpose it back into new products to save on raw materials.<\/p>\n
A composite powder material can be made from the fibreglass in the blades and used for a number of purposes, including, potentially, as an additive in the concrete used in turbine foundations.<\/p>\n
The company’s global head of sustainability Mariola Domenech said there were construction applications and countless other opportunities, included children’s playgrounds or artificial reefs.<\/p>\n
Material from the company’s decommissioned blades have already been used in the sole of sneakers as part of another project with European fashion brand El Ganso.<\/p>\n
“We will looking for innovators in Australia to help us to continue delivering our our solutions to manufacture sustainable products,”<\/p>\n
Ms Domenech said. – WITH AAP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OLD wind turbines have found a second life in surfboard form in a world-first prototype designed to set the tone for recycling in the renewables industry. The 10 boards are the handiwork of professional surfer Josh Kerr and his team at Draft Surf in collaboration with Spanish renewables developer Acciona. Mr Kerr put them through […]<\/p>\n