A pioneering partnership between the Advanced Materials Research Laboratory (AMRL) at the University of Strathclyde and Renewable Parts Limited (RPL) has been honoured with a CeeD Award for Circular Economy, demonstrating high environmental impact or deployment of circular economy models.
With many wind farms rapidly approaching end of life, a significant volume of waste material from decommissioned turbines is soon to become available. In Scotland alone, 5,600 turbines are estimated to be decommissioned by 2050, equivalent to 1.5 million tonnes of materials.
A reduced supply of older generation parts is compounding the problem, with material often scrapped and entering landfill.
Culture change
The partnership aims to drive a culture change in the wind industry to reduce waste and the carbon footprint by refurbishing or remanufacturing high-integrity, high value parts within the wind energy sector.
The AMRL partners with industrial, government & academic organisations and significantly contributes to generating impact from the development of research and commercial projects in all fields of materials engineering.
Dr Fiona Sillars, AMRL Team Lead, said: “We’re delighted that our long-standing partnership with RPL has been recognised.
“Decommissioning wind turbines in an environmentally sound way is one of the biggest challenges facing the renewable energy industry.
“The aim of our circularity approach is to help fuel a greener after-market for wind turbines nearing the end of their use, and have a significant impact on the UK economy and net-zero targets.”
Greener future
James Barry, CEO of Renewable Parts Limited, said: “Receiving this award means so much to us and is a huge validation of the great work our teams do. This work began six years ago when the market wasn’t receptive to parts reuse. The belief of the team to see the opportunity and keep going despite so many challenges is a testament to them and their dedication.
“A greener future has begun through this excellent collaborative work between industry and academia, paving the way forward for more innovation to create sustainable supply chains.”
The collaboration also scooped a win at this year’s Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards in the Making an Environmental Difference category.
The winners of the CeeD (Centre for Engineering Education & Development) Industry Awards 2025 were announced at a ceremony on Thursday, 6 March, in Glasgow, which was attended by over 700 representatives from Scottish businesses, industry, academia and government, including Richard Lochhead MSP, Minister for Business.