COPENHAGEN, Denmark — LM Wind Power, a GE Renewable Energy business, recently announced it will produce zero waste blades by 2030, a significant milestone for the industry as it seeks to reduce the carbon footprint of its products.
The commitment represents a step forward in the company’s sustainability journey after becoming the first carbon neutral business in the wind industry already in 2018.
LM Wind Power will play a central role in supporting its customers to develop fully circular wind turbines that generate less waste during their production. In practice, LM Wind Power’s vision of zero waste blades means the company aims to send no excess manufacturing materials and packaging to landfill and incineration without energy recovery by 2030.
Waste from manufacturing represents one of the biggest challenges faced by many industries as they seek to reduce their carbon footprint. At LM Wind Power, nearly one third of its operational carbon footprint comes from waste disposal.
In the wind industry, around 20-25 percent of the materials purchased by wind turbine blade manufacturers do not go into the final product, and research indicates that blade manufacturing waste volumes are expected to be larger than decommissioned blade volumes during the coming decade.
GE Renewable Energy is a $16 billion business which combines one of the broadest portfolios in the renewable energy industry.
