Worldwide industries are shifting to renewable energy sources to generate power. Although these alternatives have proven to be of help in reducing emissions, it is also causing an increase in equipment waste.
With rapid worldwide growth in wind power generation, landfills are overwhelmed with blade debris. These blades take up a lot of space and pose a big environmental challenge once they reach their end-of-life stage. As a result, recycling and reusing wind turbine blades are becoming increasingly important.
Now, the Re-wind Network has come up with re-purposing ideas for old wind turbine blades. It will help in keeping these blades out of landfills and save the energy required to make new building materials. The organization has installed its first BladeBridge for pedestrians, cyclists, and emergency vehicles. The bridge is built on the Midelton to Youghal greenway in County Cork, Ireland.
It took three years to get completed. Before being used for a pedestrian footbridge, these discarded wind farm blades were subjected to a series of technical testing. This new Irish blade bridge will not only be conserving natural resources but will also be cost-competitive with traditional bridges.
