The UK plans to double onshore wind capacity and triple offshore wind by 2030. But as new turbines go up, the first generation of wind farms is reaching the end of its life, with little policy in place to ensure their materials and components are kept in use.
In this briefing, the Green Alliance set sout why building a circular wind industry matters for energy security, supply chain resilience and industrial opportunity. They explain the current state of end of life management in the UK, where decommissioning guidance is fragmented and circular practice is the exception rather than the rule and look at what other countries are doing better. Drawing on research from the RESCUE Project, they make three recommendations for the government’s forthcoming Circular Economy Roadmap for Clean Energy Industries.
This briefing was produced with the RESCUE Project which is led by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, in partnership with the Universities of Leeds, Birmingham and the West of England, EMR and Ionic Technologies, and funded by UK Research and Innovation.
The report is available here.
External link
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 
There are plenty of sites selling 2nd hand WTs. One route forward could
be for the Uk gov’ (such as it isn’t) to buy the turbines and sell them
to community energy orgs. Won’t happen with the current bunch but could
be a easy way to deal with WTs that, with a bit of refurbishment could
have a much longer life. There is little reason why, in most cases
existing wind farms can’t be re-turbined often/usually with a higher
capacity. Nat Grid & upgrading lines in a timely and cost effectiev way
is the main problem. That said, there are work arounds. We are looking @
a project to turn wind elec’ @ an upgraded farm into H2. Trivial to do
and plenty of off-takers. Obvs, one will eventually need to recycle Wts
that are beyond repair. As for the towers, they could last for centuries.
Good point. Actually, I invested in a community wind turbine in Wales that was refurbished. It is an excellent way to go and more of this should be promoted and encouraged.