Highlighting the need to embed circular economy in low carbon infrastructure decommissioning: The case of offshore wind

Jensen, Paul D.; Purnell, Phil; Velenturf, Anne P.M.

doi:10.1016/j.spc.2020.07.012

Cited by 58 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…According to [ 7 , 8 ], recycling and sustainable incineration of resources “hold limited economic and long-term sustainability benefits compared to the reuse, repair and remanufacturing of components”. According to [ 187 ], 71% of turbine emission comes from raw materials, 6% from manufacturing, 12% from operation and maintenance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many parts of wind turbines can be recycled; however, this is seldom the case for the composite wind blades [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. The reason is that composite blades, which are the moving part subject to complex fatigue and environmental loads, are designed to sustain these loads for decades, and, thus, are extremely resistant to the loads also after the end of service time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustainable End-of-Life Management of Wind Turbine Blades: Overview of Current and Coming Solutions

Mishnaevsky

2021

Materials

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Various scenarios of end-of-life management of wind turbine blades are reviewed. “Reactive” strategies, designed to deal with already available, ageing turbines, installed in the 2000s, are discussed, among them, maintenance and repair, reuse, refurbishment and recycling. The main results and challenges of “pro-active strategies”, designed to ensure recyclability of new generations of wind turbines, are discussed. Among the main directions, the wind turbine blades with thermoplastic and recyclable thermoset composite matrices, as well as wood, bamboo and natural fiber-based composites were reviewed. It is argued that repair and reuse of wind turbine blades, and extension of the blade life has currently a number of advantages over other approaches. While new recyclable materials have been tested in laboratories, or in some cases on small or medium blades, there are remaining technological challenges for their utilization in large wind turbine blades.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable End-of-Life Management of Wind Turbine Blades: Overview of Current and Coming Solutions

Mishnaevsky

2021

Materials

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“…According to Invernizzi et al (2020b), policy-makers need to act proactively in developing policies favoring CE solutions (e.g., the reusing of components) for future energy infrastructures to tackle the challenge of decommissioning megaprojects. Jensen et al (2020) highlighted this need in the case of low-carbon infrastructures, focusing on offshore wind. Invernizzi et al (2020b) argued that existing energy infrastructures could also adopt CE solutions; however, costs and benefits can be optimized if the design (and construction) phases consider CE principles.…”

Section: Module and Component Domainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modular Circular Economy in Energy Infrastructure Projects: Enabling Factors and Barriers

Mignacca

Locatelli

2021

J. Manage. Eng.

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There is a growing body of literature surrounding circular economy (CE) and energy infrastructure projects. Most of this literature focuses on CE initiatives related to material recovering and recycling. The body of knowledge about reusing components is limited and mostly related to the need for reusing rather than providing solutions on how to reuse components. Modularization can be a step towards a solution, enabling entire modules or their components to retain their functionality in other infrastructures. Leveraging 23 semistructured interviews with nuclear and oil and gas experts, mainly based in the UK and US with international experience, this paper deals with the link between modularization and CE (defined modular CE) to identify enabling factors and barriers for the reuse of modules or their components. Relevant enabling factors are the monitoring of module and component conditions, standardization of module and component designs, and early planning. Relevant barriers are the lack of a second-hand market, economics, and regulatory challenges. The results are relevant to the stakeholders involved in planning, building, operating, and decommissioning energy infrastructures.

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“…In the future, sustainable and circular economy approaches (CE) should be further integrated into offshore decommissioning. There is a need to rethink the waste management model, and CE logic offers a way to rethink waste as a resource, integrating conservation and system regeneration, as well as a novel approach to renewable energy (Jensen et al, 2020). This is done with the aim of minimizing resource extraction from the natural environment, maximizing waste prevention measures, and optimizing the use of materials, components, and products throughout their life cycle (Velenturf et al, 2019).…”

Section: Managerial Implications and Direction For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable and Circular Business Model for Oil & Gas Offshore Platform Decommissioning

Basile¹,

Vona²

2021

IJBM

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In recent years, the problem of decommissioning and recycling offshore platforms has become an increasingly complex issue for environmental, socio-economic and safety reasons. The decommissioning or sustainable conversion of offshore platforms in the broader context of the circular economy will lead to the acquisition of new technologies and increasingly change values and behaviours towards sustainability in line with new business models. It will also be a complex process as it will require new skills, transformative technologies and the ability to engage all stakeholders. The objective of this study are the Multi-Use Platforms at Sea (MUPS), which represents an interesting solution for the creation of marine areas where different economic and recreational activities can be launched and developed according to the needs of environmental protection (e.g. renewable energies, shellfish farming, decarbonization plants, tourism and recreation).The main research question was the following: "What is the sustainable and circular business model in the literature that can be best used to support the transformation and/or decommissioning of oil platforms?" In addition, "How can the above business model be applied to the case of a platform considering social and environmental impacts?" In the first phase, the research activity focused on a thorough review of the literature on offshore platform decommissioning and sustainable and circular business models. This allowed us to access the Sustainable Circular Business Model Canvas (SCBMC), a conceptual tool that presents a holistic view of the different multi-purpose management options and their social and environmental impacts. This tool could help oil and gas operators (and related industries) address platform mining issues. The methodology adopted was a qualitative analysis. To test the SCBMC, an empirical study was conducted with semi-structured questionnaires given to several stakeholders (including experts, professionals and academics) in the international decommissioning industry. In addition, broader desk research on global offshore case studies was conducted using information sources and secondary sources. In future research, it may be useful to compare the SCBMC with the latest mainstream Circular Business Model (CBM) issues to better assess and quantify the environmental and social impacts of offshore platform decommissioning and to broaden the debate on this topic, considering economic indicators.

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Highlighting the need to embed circular economy in low carbon infrastructure decommissioning: The case of offshore wind

Cited by 58 publications

References 40 publications

Sustainable End-of-Life Management of Wind Turbine Blades: Overview of Current and Coming Solutions

Sustainable End-of-Life Management of Wind Turbine Blades: Overview of Current and Coming Solutions

Modular Circular Economy in Energy Infrastructure Projects: Enabling Factors and Barriers

Sustainable and Circular Business Model for Oil & Gas Offshore Platform Decommissioning

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