President Joe Biden wasted no time in declaring war on fossil fuels and driving the expansion of renewable energy, including a major wind power project off the coast of Massachusetts. The change occurs when reports appear on how used turbine blades are being dumped in landfills.
Biden signed an executive order on January 27, asking the Department of the Interior to “identify measures to accelerate the responsible development of renewable energy in public lands and waters”.
Newsday reported on Biden’s green energy agenda:
Biden on January 27 signed an executive order asking the Department of the Interior to “identify steps to accelerate responsible development of renewable energy in public lands and waters”, a radical change by the Trump administration, which has delayed federal approvals.
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released a statement on Wednesday saying it would restart the environmental review and work to develop a final environmental impact statement needed to approve the project’s construction and operations plan. The project, called Vineyard Wind, a company based in New Bedford, Massachusetts, withdrew its application for the construction plan for the 800-megawatt project, one of the first that was due to go into operation, to review the prospect of using larger turbines.
For the developers of the South Fork Wind Farm, a project contracted by LIPA that is scheduled to supply power to the South Fork by 2023, news of the advancement of Vineyard Wind and the Biden administration’s commitment to the wind have been welcome.
“I think it’s a strong signal from the Biden government,” said Fred Zalcman, head of government affairs for Danish energy giant Orsted, which with Eversource is developing the 130-megawatt South Fork project. “We have all been in a waiting pattern for most of the year.”
But according to the Biden government, alternative energy industry and environmentalists praise the new impetus for “clean energy”, reports have revealed that the massive blades used in wind turbines are not easily recycled and are being buried in landfills.
The Texas Standard detailed the scenario of the blades used, including an interview with a reporter who investigated wind energy pollution:
Texas is a leader in wind-generated energy, with wind turbines and massive blades punctuating the western half of the state. But this equipment has a useful life. The turbines last for about 25-30 years and their blades are usually replaced at least once during that time.
Freelance journalist Kate Hill recently reported to the Texas Observer that discarded blades often end up in landfills. But new options are emerging that can give them a second life.
“What is currently being done with most blades deactivated?” the news agency asked Hill.
“They are placed in the field next to the turbine or sent to a landfill,” said Hill. “It is really shocking to see the huge volume of fiberglass ending up in landfills. These blades are, you know, hundreds of meters long and are usually cut into two, three or four pieces and placed. And just to process them and just get to that point of being able to get into the waste stream, that processing … takes a huge toll. “
The advantage, said Hill, is that some were used in cement production and, in Europe, the blades were reused for infrastructure projects.
But these facts should not be used to criticize wind power, Hill said.
“I don’t think that cleaning wind power is something that should be questioned as a result of this problem,” said Hill. “At the end of the day, the blades do not release any type of toxic chemical to the soil, if they end up in landfills. But the problem at issue here is really how much space will be taken if they don’t find any other use or home when they reach the end of their lives ”.
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