Prospective material flow analysis of the end-of-life decommissioning: Case study of a North Sea offshore wind farm

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

  • Célestin Demuytere
  • Ines Vanderveken
  • Gwenny Thomassen
  • María Fernanda Godoy León
  • Laura Vittoria De Luca Peña
  • Chris Blommaert
  • Jochem Vermeir
  • Jo Dewulf

Early offshore wind farms approach their decommissioning phase, yet a lack of precedents, potential legal bottlenecks, inadequate treatments and a lack of applicable circularity indicators, leave the sector unprepared, encompassing a risk of valuable materials loss. This paper presents a first-of-its-kind circularity analysis of the prospective decommissioning scenario of a North Sea wind farm, introducing and applying new circularity indicators. From the site-specific primary data, a bill of materials and material flow analysis was established, differentiating between secondary applications and end-of-life destinations. The main share (80 %) of the installed mass originated from scour protection, acting as hotspot to the 84 % of materials remaining in situ. The collected fraction recycling rate approaches 90 %. However, the substantial discrepancies between components and materials implicate a need for component or material-specific targets to avoid valuable material loss. Introducing such collection or recycling targets could encourage more circular decommissioning practices along the value chain.

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Aufsatznummer107283
ZeitschriftResources, Conservation and Recycling
Jahrgang200
Anzahl der Seiten8
ISSN0921-3449
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 01.01.2024
Extern publiziertJa

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